Kolkata: In display of its efficient functioning and commitment towards maintaining delivery schedules, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd laid the keel of the 4th Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel (NGOPV) on Thursday, April 24, 2025. GRSE is building four NGOPVs for the Indian Navy.
The Chief Guest at the occasion was Vice Admiral Rajaram Swaminathan, AVSM, NM, CWP&A, Indian Navy. Among the others present at the keel-laying ceremony were Cmde P R Hari, IN (Retd), Chairman and Managing Director, GRSE, RK Dash, Director (Finance), GRSE, Cdr Shantanu Bose, IN(Retd), Director (Shipbuilding), GRSE, DIG Subrato Ghosh, ICG(Retd.), Director (Personnel), GRSE, Abhishek Ranjan, IOFS, CVO, GRSE, and other senior officials of GRSE & Indian Navy.
This keel laying has been possible as GRSE has adopted the advanced modular shipbuilding technology. This allows ships to be built in blocks that are then brought together.
GRSE is presently building 40 platforms. Of these, 17 are for the Navy. The first in a series of eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts (ASW SWCs), being built by the shipyard for the Navy, is ready for delivery. The INS Himgiri, first in a series of three Advanced Frigates, being built by GRSE for the Navy, and the second ASW SWC have successfully completed their Contractor Sea Trials.
GRSE has expertise in the construction and delivery of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs). The shipyard also bagged the Defence Minister’s Award of Excellence for in-house Design Effort for the OPV MCGS Barracuda. This was the first warship exported by India to Mauritius in 2014.
The NGOPVs will be far more advanced than the OPVs built in the past. They will be much larger, and have greater endurance and firepower. These platforms will be about 113 metres long and 14.6 metres wide, with a displacement of 3,000 Tons. The NGOPVs will achieve speeds of up to 23 knots. Their endurance will be 8,500 nautical miles at a speed of 14 knots. The crew will comprise 24 officers and over 100 sailors.
The NGOPVs will play a variety of roles. With a draught requirement of only 4 metres, they would be able to operate in coastal waters, protecting offshore assets, carrying out maritime interdiction, as well as visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) operations. They will also be part of presence-cum-surveillance missions and mine warfare while having the capability to support special operations.
These warships will also participate in ‘Out of Area’ Contingency Operations, non-combatant evacuation, convoy operations, anti-piracy missions and counter-infiltration operations. Apart from these, they will take on poachers and traffickers, and participate in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief as well as search and rescue missions. They will also be able to operate as hospital and COMINT ships apart from providing fleet maintenance support.
In his address, Vice Admiral Rajaram Swaminathan, AVSM, NM, CWP&A, Indian Navy mentioned, “We are very, very happy to note that GRSE has really ramped up and picked up pace in moving all the projects ahead, whether it is Survey Vessel Large or the ASW Shallow watercrafts or even the OPVs, which are actually moving at breakneck speed”.
He was also happy to note the efforts that are being put in, by the shipyard towards capacity expansion, towards diversification, and of course making all niche technology equipments like unmanned or anchored vessels.
Cmde P R Hari, CMD, GRSE, spoke on how the Organisation – now a Schedule A Company – looks forward to more orders for Next Generation platforms from the Navy.
