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State-run warship builder Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd will partner Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems GmbH to overhaul the Indian Navy’s Shishumar Class non-nuclear diesel electric submarine. The total refit deal awarded by the Indian Navy to Mazagon Dock is worth Rs 1,100 crore.
Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, the world’s top non-nuclear submarine designer and manufacturer, will get as much as Rs 410 crore as its share of the refit of INS Shishumar, the Kiel, Germany-based company said in a statement. Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems is a unit of Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions A G.
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems runs the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) shipbuilding yard in Kiel, where two of the four Shishumar class submarines were built.
The deal involves medium refit and life certification (MRLC) of one submarine. The work will commence in October and is expected to be completed by 2021. The upgrade will extend the operational life of the submarine by at least 10 years.
“Thyssenkrupp has always looked at a long-term strategic vision while handling projects from eminent partner countries. We view this MRLC work in the same light and are positive that programmes like this will also translate into other partnerships with Indian players for future strategic programmes,” said Oliver Burkhard, Member of the Executive Board, Thyssenkrupp AG.
The Indian Navy is planning subsequent overhauls of the remaining three HDW Class 209 Type 1500 assets that were commissioned between 1986 and 1994 and which form the Indian Navy’s 10th submarine squadron based in Mumbai. Supplied by Thyssenkrupp, the first two submarines were assembled at the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) at Kiel, Germany, while the third and fourth submarines were manufactured by means of material packages and Transfer of Technology (ToT) at Mazagon Dock. These were the first submarines ever to be built in India.
Thyssenkrupp was recently awarded a contract worth €35 million for the retrofit of the Harpoon missile system in two of the Shishumar-class submarines.
The refit contract will help Mazagon enter the submarine repair business as it looks to diversify its product portfolio ahead of a planned share sale that will list the Mumbai-based firm on the stock exchange.
Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems is one of the four firms short-listed by the Indian Navy as strategic partners to build six advanced submarines under the ‘Project-75 India’ or P75(I) programme estimated at a combined $8 billion.
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders is currently building five Scorpene Class submarines for the Indian Navy through a technology tie-up with the Naval Group of France. The sixth Scorpene submarine was delivered to the Indian Navy earlier this year.
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