The indigenously designed and built survey ship Nirdeshak was launched on Thursday in the Bay of Bengal. It is the second of the four survey vessels(Large)built by the public sector Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata in collaboration with Larsen and Toubro (L&T) for the Indian Navy.
Giving details of the ship, Navy officials said here, the vessel was launched at Kattupalli, Chennai. The ship made its first contact with water of Bay of Bengal at 1038 hrs at the launch ceremony graced by the Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, Eastern Naval Command.
His wife Sarbani Dasgupta launched the ship in keeping with the naval tradition. The ship has taken its name from erstwhile Nirdeshak which was also an Indian Naval Survey ship and was decommissioned after 32 years of glorious service in December 2014.
Part construction of three out of four ships of survey vessels is being undertaken at L&T, Kattupalli as part of collaborative approach between GRSE and L&T shipbuilding.
This model of public private partnership shall be harbinger of future successful collaboration for warship construction in India, they said. The contract for building four ships was signed between defence ministry and GRSE in 2018.
The first of class ship ‘Sandhayak’ was launched on in December last year. The new survey ships will replace the existing Sandhayak Class survey ships with new generation hydrographic equipment to collect oceanographic data.
The Survey Vessel (Large) ships have a deep displacement of about 3,400 tons and a complement of 235 personnel. The ship is designed to operate at cruise speed of 14 knots and maximum speed of 18 knots.
Bow and stern thrusters have been catered for better manoeuvring at low speeds required during shallow water survey operations.
The hull of these ships is made from indigenously developed DMR 249-A steel manufactured by Steel Authority of India Limited.
With a capability to carry four survey motor boats and an integral helicopter, the primary role of the ships would be to undertake full scale coastal and deep-water hydrographic surveys of ports and navigational channels.
The ships would also be deployed for collecting oceanographic and geophysical data for defence as well as civil applications.
In their secondary role, the ships are capable of providing limited defence, besides serving as hospital ships during emergencies.
Despite challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic, the GRSE has made substantial progress and aim to deliver Sandhayak, the first ship by January next year. The delivery of the second ship Nirdeshak is likely by April 2023.
Launch of the second survey vessel reinforces resolve for indigenous shipbuilding as part of the vision of ‘Make in India’, and ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’. The Survey Vessels Large will have over 80 per cent indigenous content by cost.
This will also ensure that large scale defence production is executed by Indian manufacturing units thereby generating employment and capability build up within country.