GRSE marks construction of 100th ship for Navy with landing craft LCU L-56
30 Jul 2019
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The Indian navy on Monday announced the commissioning of the sixth ship of a class of eight Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mark-IV vessels, IN LCU L-56. It is 100th warship built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata, a Mini Ratna Category 1 PSU and a leading shipyard of the country.
Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, announced the addition of the new ship to the naval fleet at a function in Visakhapatnam.
LCU Mk-IV is an amphibious ship with its primary role being transportation and deployment of main battle tanks, armoured vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore. These ships, based at the Andaman and Nicobar Command, can be deployed for multirole activities like beaching operations, search and rescue, disaster relief operations, supply and replenishment and evacuation from distant islands.
Designed to accommodate 216 personnel, LCU is equipped with two Indigenous CRN 91 guns to provide artillery fire support during landing operations. The ship is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment and advanced systems like Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS).
The LCU Mk-IV Class of ships are fitted with close to 90 per cent indigenous content in line with the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative towards achieving self-reliance and indigenisation.
The Mk-IV LCU vessels are a further improved version of the Mk-III LCU vessels currently being used by the Indian Navy. The entire design of LCU Mark-IV vessel has been developed in-house by GRSE as per the specified requirements of the Indian Navy.
Currently, GRSE has a strong order book of over Rs27,500 crore equipping the shipyard with a deep pool of revenue-generating projects. These include 22 ships – 8 ASWSWC, 3 P17A, 1 ASWC, 4 Survey Vessels (Large), 2 LCUs, 4 FPVs – which are in various stages of construction and are expected to be delivered to the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard, accordingly. Three ships of Project P17A Advanced Stealth Frigates are being constructed using Modular Construction Technology, 3D Modelling concepts and latest software like Aveva Marine and NAPA. The first ship is progressing at a rapid pace with production being ahead of schedule while production of the second frigate is slated to commence shortly.
GRSE’s association with the Indian Navy is long and strong as over the last six decades the shipyard has been building warships and other vessels for the country’s Navy and Coast Guard. Over the last 59 years, GRSE has built around 780 platforms, which include 100 warships to Indian Navy.
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