KOLKATA. “L-55” a “Mark IV LCU Vessel, built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata, was formally “Handed Over” to the Indian Navy on September 28 at GRSE, Kolkata. It is a matter of great pride, as L55 is the 6th warship delivered by GRSE to the Indian Navy in last 16 months, which is a record in itself.
GRSE currently has a very strong order book providing the Shipyard a deep pool of revenue-generating projects. With a Rs. 203,136.10 million order book, the firm is on stable ground.
12 ships currently under construction with 09 ships (01 ASW Corvette, 03 LCUs, 05 FPVs) in advanced stages of construction, expected to be delivered to Indian Navy by end 2019. 03 ships of Project P17A Advanced Stealth Frigates with an order value of Rs 192934.60 million are being constructed using Modular Construction Technology and various softwares like Aveva Marine, NAPA etc. The progress on the 1st ship is moving at a rapid pace & production is running ahead of schedule & production of 2nd Frigate, is slated to commence shortly. GRSE has been declared successful bidders in competitive bidding for another 12 ships (04 Survey Vessels (Large) & 08 ASW SWCs) for the Indian Navy.
GRSE is executing order for 8 Landing Craft Utility Ships for the Indian Navy and the ship delivered today, is the 5th in the series. The balance 3 ships are in advanced stages of construction and are expected to be delivered to the Indian Navy, over the next one year. These warships, developed by the in house design team are believed to be unique in their design & operations having length of 62.8 metres and achieving a speed of 15 knots with a low draught of 1.7 m. This proves GRSE’s ability to provide end-to-end solutions to their customers ranging from product conceptualization, design, system integration and project management thus increasing the capability to meet customer demands. Key areas of strength of the shipyard include a multi-disciplinary strong design team, production acumen, focused project planning & execution, traits which have helped the Shipyard create strong differentiators in its path of growth.
The Ship was Handed Over by Rear Admiral V. K. Saxena, IN (Retd) Chairman & Managing Director, GRSE to the Commanding Officer of the Ship Lt. Cdr. Abhishek Kumar at the Ceremony held in GRSE today. Brigadier SY Deshmukh, Chief Staff Officer (Technical) of Andaman and Nicobar Command carried out Final Inspection of the Ship prior to acceptance by the Navy. Shri Sarvjit Singh Dogra, Director (Finance), and Cmde. Sanjeev Nayyar, IN (Retd), Director (Shipbuilding) and other Senior Officials of the Indian Navy and GRSE were present at the Occasion.
The Mark IV LCU Vessels are a further improved version of the Mark III LCU Vessels presently being used by the Indian Navy. The First Ship of the Mark IV LCU Vessels IN LCU L-51 was commissioned into Indian Navy during 2016.
In line with the Govt. of India’s Make In India Initiative towards Self Reliance & Indigenisation efforts, the LCU Mark IV Class of Ships are fitted with close to 90% indigenous content.
With the Handing Over of IN LCU L-55, GRSE has once again demonstrated its’ Commitment to Strengthen the Maritime Security of the Nation, thereby meeting the Aspirations that the Country has Reposed on this Mini Ratna Shipyard.
