Kolkata: Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) achieved a major milestone with ‘laying of the Keel’ of Yard 3024, a ship of the Advanced Stealth Frigate Project P 17A.

As per GRSE tradition, the Keel was laid by a senior operative Mithailal Pasi, Structural Fitter of Shipbuilding Shop at the Main Works Unit of GRSE, in the august presence of Vice Admiral Sandeep Naithani, Controller of Warship Production & Acquisition (CWP&A), Indian Navy and Rear Admiral GK Harish, VSM, Director General of Naval Design.

The occasion was graced by Rear Admiral VK Saxena, IN (Retd.), Chairman and Managing Director, GRSE; Cmde. Sanjeev Nayyar, IN (Retd), Director (Shipbuilding); Cmde. PR Hari, IN (Retd), Director (Personnel); RK Dash, Director (Finance) and other senior officials of the Indian Navy and GRSE.

The contract for construction of three Stealth Frigates under Project 17A is the largest ever order awarded to the shipyard by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with a value of over Rs 19,293 crores. The shipyard despite all challenges amid Covid – 19 pandemic, launched the first ship of P17A Stealth Frigate “INS Himgiri” ahead of schedule on December 14, 2020.

The Keel laying of Yard 3024 has also been achieved ahead of schedule. It is important to note that the Keels for both first & second ships viz, Yard 3022 and Yard 3023 were also laid ahead of schedule on November 10, 2018 and January 24, 2020 respectively.

The important milestones of ship building involve the process of cutting of steel which is called the ‘Start Production’ stage followed by ‘Keel laying’ subsequent to which, the other blocks are built around the keel block. The next phase is launching, when the Ship is placed in water for the first time, Subsequently, the ship is outfitted with equipment and systems post launch, followed by trials of equipment. On completion of all trials and once the compartments are ready, the ship is delivered to customer.

P17A ships shall be the most advanced state-of-the-art Guided Missile Frigates, 149 m long, with a displacement of approximately 6670 T and advanced CODOG Propulsion enabling speed of over 28 knots. These complex platforms are equipped with a powerful weapon and sensor package capable of neutralising threats in all three dimensions of Air, Surface and Sub-surface.

The project’s Stealth Frigates are being built using Integrated Construction Methodology with enhanced pre-outfitting to enhance quality and reduce build periods. M/s Fincantieri, Italy is the Knowhow Provider for Technology Upgrade and Capability Enhancement in this project. An advanced PDM-PLM system is being implemented at GRSE to manage the project over its life cycle.

Since its takeover by the Government in 1960, GRSE has delivered high end warships ranging from Fast Patrol Vessels, Survey Vessels, Landing Ship Tanks, Landing Craft Utility, Fleet Tanker to Frigates and Missile/ASW Corvettes. The shipyard has made a significant advancement towards self-reliance in state-of-the-art warship design and construction and furthered ‘Atmanirbhar’ abhiyaan by achieving over 90 per cent indigenous content onboard ASW Corvettes and Landing Craft Utility ships.

Having modernised its infrastructure facilities, today GRSE is in a position to construct 20 warships concurrently using Advanced Modular Integrated Shipbuilding Technology in line with the best in the world.

GRSE’s Design Unit has been recognised by Dept. of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR). The complete designs of LCUs, Water Jet FACs, Survey Vessel (Large) and ASW – SWCs have been developed by the 100+ member Strong Design Team. The 3D Virtual Reality Lab at GRSE aids in identification of Design/ Construction issues at early Design Stage. GRSE has proven design capabilities to integrate systems onboard its platforms to meet specific needs of its customers.

The Shipyard is currently executing two more major projects of Indian Navy pertaining to construction of four Survey Vessel Large ships and eight ASWSWC ships apart from the three P17A ships. It also received an Export Order from Government of Guyana for Design, Construction and Delivery of one Ocean Going Passenger cum Cargo Ferry Vessel and delivered FPV “SGPS Zoroaster” to Government of Seychelles. With proven export credentials backed by a healthy order book, the shipyard is well on its way to realise its vision of being a global leader in shipbuilding.