Navy Vice Chief lays keel of first warship of ASW shallow water craft project

Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral SN Ghormade virtually laid the keels of the first warship of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC) project and the third warship of Survey Vessel Large (SVL) project for the Indian Navy on Friday.

Ministry of Defence, in a press release, informed that the ships are being built by GRSE as part of the indigenous shipbuilding program for the construction of eight ASW SWC and four SVL for the Indian Navy. "The ships are partly being built under a unique Public-Private Partnership model by GRSE at L&T Shipyard, Kattupalli. The keel laying is a major milestone activity in the shipbuilding process and indicates the amalgamation of various blocks towards the construction of a ship," the release read.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Guest appreciated the efforts put in by GRSE and L&T in achieving this milestone despite COVID constraints and resultant lockdowns. He called it a noteworthy achievement by the Shipyard and commended the professionalism displayed by all.

Further, he highlighted that construction of these vessels is a major boost for AtmaNirbhar Bharat and India's 'Make in India' commitment with most of the weapons, sensors and equipment being indigenous.

"The ASW Shall Water Craft equipped with state-of-the-art underwater sensors and weapons will boost the Navy's ASW capability. The SVL ships capable of a full-scale coastal survey, deep-water Hydrographic survey and determination of navigational channels/ routes will also be fitted with state of art equipment," he added.

Highlighting various challenges faced by the shipyard in executing the complex shipbuilding project, the CMD-GRSE stated that despite challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic, production of the ships continued by utilisation of innovative solutions.

( With inputs from ANI )

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