As part of modernization of its Navy, India’s Ministry of Defence has awarded a Rs 6,311.32-crore contract to state-owned domestic Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) to build eight anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft (ASWSWCs). The first vessel is to be delivered within 42 months from the contract signing date on April 29 and the remaining ships’ delivery schedule will be two ships per year. The project completion time is four years months from April 29, the Defence Ministry said in a statement on Monday evening.
The new anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft are designed for a deep displacement of 750 tonnes, speed of 25 knots and complement of 57 and capable of full-scale sub-surface surveillance of coastal waters and coordinated anti-submarine operations with aircraft, it said. Besides, the proposed vessels will have the capability to interdict and destroy sub- surface targets in coastal waters and can also be deployed for search and rescue by day and night in coastal areas. In their secondary role, these will be capable of prosecuting intruding aircraft and laying mines in the sea bed, according to the statement.
The new vessels will be equipped with highly advanced state-of-the-art integrated platform management systems including Propulsion Machinery, Auxiliary Machinery, Power Generation and Distribution Machinery and Damage Control Machinery, the Defence Ministry said. These warships will conform to the latest marine pollution standards of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), it added.
The GRSE in Kolkata is currently handling major projects to make three stealth frigates under P17A Project, ASW Corvettes and four large survey vessels for the Indian Navy. The GRSE has been a pioneer warship builder of India having delivered the highest number of warships till date since its inception in 1960. The 100 warships built by GRSE so far ranges from advanced frigates to anti-submarine warfare corvettes to fleet tankers and fast-attack crafts.