Cochin Shipyard conducts steel cutting for Navy crafts

Steel cutting ceremony of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts (ASWSWCs) for Indian Navy was held at Cochin Shipyard Limited on Tuesday.

Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Indian Navy declared through video conferencing the commencement of steel cutting of first steel plate. The steel cutting ceremony is one of the initial milestones in the vessel construction process.

Cochin Shipyard Limited signed the contract for construction and supply of eight ASWSWCs for Indian Navy on April30, 2019 in a competitive bidding process. The order value for these vessels is ₹6,311 crore. The project is to be completed in 90 months from date of signing the contract.

These ASWSWC’s are designed for a speed of 25 knots and complement of 57 and capable of full-scale sub surface surveillance of coastal waters and coordinated ASW operations with aircraft. In addition, the vessels will have the capability to interdict/destroy sub surface targets in coastal waters. They can also be deployed for day and night search and rescue in coastal areas.

In their secondary role, they will be capable to sue intruding aircraft, and lay mines in the sea bed. The vessels will be equipped with highly advanced state-of-the-art integrated platform management systems, propulsion machinery, auxiliary machinery, power generation and distribution machinery and damage control machinery etc.

CSL is currently investing a total of ₹2,769 crore in infrastructure augmentation by a new 310 metre long dry dock at Kochi and a ship lift based Ship Repair yard at Willingdon Island.

The yard is expanding geographically and has commenced ship repair units at Mumbai, Kolkata and Port Blair in addition to its Kochi facilities. CSL is also setting up fully owned subsidiary shipyards at Kolkata (named HCSL) and at Malpe, Karnataka (named TEBMA Shipyards Limited) to cater to the construction of small and medium sized vessels as well as vessels for the Inland Waterways.