Kolkata, 11 June (H.S.): Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. (GRSE), a premier warship builder under the Government of India, has signed a new contract with the Geological Survey of India (GSI) for the construction of two state-of-the-art coastal research vessels. The agreement was formalized on June 11 at a ceremony held in Kolkata.

The contract was signed by Commander Shantanu Bose, Director (Shipbuilding) at GRSE, and Dr. N.M. Sharif, Deputy Director General and Head of GSI’s Marine and Coastal Survey Division. The event was attended by senior officials from both organizations, including GSI Director General Asit Saha.

In a statement issued by GRSE, the shipyard highlighted that this agreement underlines its growing expertise in the domain of research vessel construction. The company is currently building an ocean research vessel for the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, as well as an acoustic research ship for the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL).

The newly contracted vessels will be 64 meters in length and 12 meters in breadth, with a deadweight of approximately 450 tonnes. Each vessel will accommodate 35 personnel, have an endurance of 15 days at sea, and a maximum speed of 10 knots.

Equipped with advanced facilities, the ships will be used for marine mapping, mineral resource exploration (including dredging), ocean environment monitoring, and other scientific research. They will feature sophisticated laboratories, data processing capabilities, and systems for sample analysis.

The vessels will also include Dynamic Positioning System - 1 (DP-1) to maintain stability in challenging marine environments. Powered by diesel-electric propulsion, they will operate efficiently at depths ranging from 5 to 1,000 meters within India’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

GRSE brings decades of experience in building research vessels. Notably, in 1994, it delivered the ocean acoustic research vessel INS Sagardhwani to NPOL. Between 1981 and 1993, the shipyard supplied six survey vessels to the Indian Navy. More recently, it has delivered two large Sandhayak-class survey ships to the Navy, with two more currently under construction—these are among the most advanced and largest survey ships ever built in India.

GRSE is presently constructing 16 warships across four classes for the Indian Navy. It has also emerged as the lowest bidder for the Navy’s next-generation corvette program, likely to secure a contract for five more ships.

On the international front, GRSE is building eight multipurpose cargo vessels for a German client, further strengthening its footprint and reputation in the global shipbuilding industry.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh