The Navy is now looking into a contract with the Reliance Group for delay in delivery schedule of patrol boats. The Navy has also encashed the bank guarantee as a punitive action, Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said here on Monday.
Clarifying that the contract for five offshore patrol vessels was not cancelled, the Navy chief said Reliance Naval Engineering Limited (RNEL) is undergoing corporate debt restructuring and they are being taken to court by their banker IDBI.
He also said no preferential treatment was meted out to Reliance and no fresh tenders have been issued to the company. The deal was inked in 2011 for Rs 2,500 crore for patrol vessels for surveillance of the country's vast exclusive economic zone besides anti-piracy patrols, fleet support operations, maritime security of offshore assets and protection of sea lanes. The first ship was to be delivered in early 2015 but the delays led to the launching of two ships only in 2017. Each ship weighs about 2,000 tonnes as per specifications.
This was the first project given to the private sector. The ships are to be armed with 76mm super rapid gun mount system along with two 30mm AK630 guns which provide medium range and short range offensive and defensive capabilities.
The project never really took off as Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering which inked the deal got into a debt and was subsequently taken over by Reliance Group. As per the deal, the fist vessel was to be delivered in 2015.
Pipavav Shipyard is located in Gujarat. Fielding repeated queries on the issue, the Navy chief said no tenders have been issued to Reliance.