Kolkata: Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd achieved a rare feat by laying the keels of three vessels together. While Yard 3028 is the fourth and last in the series of Sandhayak Class Survey Vessel (Large), Yards 3030 and 3031 are the third and fourth in a series of eight Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Shallow Water Craft being built by GRSE for the Indian Navy. Vice Admiral S N Ghormade, Vice Chief of Naval Staff, was the chief guest at the occasion.
The keel of a ship runs from its stem to stern and is considered the vessel’s spine. It is only after the keel is laid, that work on a ship starts and her hull takes shape. In olden days, a strong timber beam would be placed on the blocks on which the ship was to be built. As work progressed, parts of the hull would be attached to this beam or keel and the ship would take place. Modern day shipbuilding involves lowering of the entire keel block to which other sections are joined to integrate the ship.
The laying of three keels together portrays GRSE’s capability to work on ships of different classes concurrently. A Survey Vessel (Large), two of which have already been launched by GRSE, is used by the Indian Navy for hydrographic survey and charting of the ocean floor. Such ships are also used to study the entry point to harbours and allow naval vessels adequate clearance during their approach.
The ASW Shallow Water Crafts on the other hand are potent Anti-Submarine platforms bustling with weapons, Sonar and Sensors to detect and neutralize any underwater threat in Indian territory. The vessels of both the projects are being built to IRS Class Rules.
Taking note that this is the first time ever that the keel laying is being undertaken for three Indian Navy Warships concurrently, Vice Admiral Ghormade said, “This proves enhanced production capabilities of our shipyards & reassures the nation that we are on right path of ‘Atmanirbharta’.” He also congratulated GRSE for collaborating with Larsen & Toubro in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) which will pave the way towards enhanced warship construction capabilities of the nation in times to come.
Speaking at the occasion, Cmde P R Hari, IN (retd), Chairman and Managing Director, GRSE, talked about how the premier defence shipyard is gearing up to meet the challenge and deliver state-of-the-art ships, with very high indigenous content, to the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.
He spoke about how GRSE is leveraging own technical expertise in ‘Warship Design’ and ‘Supply Chain Management’ coupled with the spare capacity of capable private partner shipyards to simultaneously work on 23 platforms.
GRSE is constantly evolving through adoption of latest technology and keeping abreast with modern shipbuilding methods. The shipyard has been successful in bagging orders by participating in competitive bidding and shall continue to meet the demands of the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard by designing and building state-of-the-art future ready platforms.
