Kolkata. Kolkata-based shipbuilding major Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) has achieved a key milestone in its Project 17A with it laying the keel of its first of three Advanced Stealth Frigates.
The keel was laid at GRSE’s Main Works Unit on November 10 in the august presence of Vice Admiral KB Singh, PVSM, AVSM, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C), Eastern Naval Command. Rear Admiral VK Saxena (Retd.), Chairman & Managing Director and other senior officials of the Indian Navy and GRSE graced the keel laying ceremony.
The contract for construction of three highly Advanced Stealth Frigates under Project 17A is the largest ever order won by the company. This prestigious contract of Rs 19,293.46 crore was signed between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and GRSE on February 20, three years ago in 2015.
The first ship is expected to be delivered in 2023 and the next two ships in 2024 and 2025 respectively.
Since its takeover by the Government of India in 1960, GRSE has delivered 98 warships – the highest number of warships deliveries made by any Indian shipyard till date. The Shipyard has a strong in house design team of close to 100 designers.
GRSE has built high-end platforms in the past, including Frigates, Missile Corvettes, new generation Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvettes and Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Ships for Indian Navy. It has the distinction of achieving over 90 per cent indigenous content, on board ASW Corvettes and LCUs, a major step towards self-reliance in state-of-the-art warship design and construction.
Having modernised infrastructure facilities, GRSE is today in a position to construct large number of warships using Advanced Modular Integrated Shipbuilding Technology (AMIST) in line with the best in the world. This has helped enhance its capacity to the present level of constructing 20 warships concurrently.
P17A Frigates are state-of-the-art Guided Missile Frigates (GMF). Each of these ships will be 149 m long, with displacement of approximately 6670 T and a speed of 28 knots. P17A Stealth Frigates are being built deploying the latest Integrated Construction Methodology with enhanced pre-outfitting to enhance quality and reduce build period considerably. GRSE has appointed M/s Fincantieri, Italy as the Knowhow Provider for Technology Upgrade and Capability Enhancement.
GRSE has set sail towards a growth route in line with its vision to be a world class shipyard. The award of prestigious Project 17A is a major leap for the shipyard in this regard. Continuing research & innovation, excellent product quality, world class modern infrastructure, and a strong corporate structure coupled with a competent & experienced human capital including around 100 in-house design engineers, promise a bright future for GRSE.
