Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd has outsourced a part of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Watercraft (ASW SWC) and Survey Vessel Large order to L&T Shipbuilding Ltd.
This has been done so that the vessels are timely delivered to the Indian Navy.
Notably, GRSE was awarded a contract on 29 April 2019 by Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD), worth Rs 6,311 crore ($790 million) for eight anti-submarine vessels, to be delivered between 2022 and 2026.
The contract stipulated that the first vessel had to be delivered within 42 months of the date of signing, with the remaining seven vessels delivered at regular intervals.
As for the Survey Vessel Large (SVL) order, the contract for was signed between MoD and GRSE, Kolkata on 30 October 18, 2023 for a total cost of Rs 2435 Crores.
The first ship is expected to be delivered within 36 months from the date of signing the contract.
On 31 December 2020, GRSE initiated the construction of the stipulated vessels under its agreement, with the steel-cutting ceremony of the first of the eight vessels it had been assigned with, at L&T’s shipyard at Kattupalli, near Chennai.
In July 2021, GRSE initiated the construction of two more vessels under its contract, with their respective steel-cutting ceremonies, while the keel of the first vessels (which had begun construction in December, 2020) was laid on 6 August 2021.
About Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC)
The Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) corvettes, are a class of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) vessels currently being built for the Indian Navy, by Cochin Shipyard (CSL) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE).
They are to replace the ageing Abhay-class corvettes of the Indian Navy, and are designed to undertake ASW duties – including subsurface surveillance in littoral waters, search-and-attack unit (SAU) missions and coordinated anti-submarine warfare operations with naval aircraft.
Further, they are also to provide secondary duties – including defence against intruding aircraft, minelaying and search-and-rescue (SAR).
Equipped with sophisticated sensors and ordnance, the vessels also possess the capabilities to interdict and destroy subsurface targets – primarily hostile submarines, within the vicinity of coastal waters.
A total of 16 vessels are being built for the Indian Navy, jointly by CSL and GRSE under the Make in India initiative.
The Indian Navy plans to have all 16 vessels in active service by 2026.
