The defence sector public sector unit, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd partnered with Carsten Rehder Schiffsmakler and Reederei GmbH and Co. KG Germany for the construction and delivery of four multi-purpose vessels of 7,500 DWT each, with an option of building another four ships in near future, the company said in a press statement.
According to the company, these vessels will be 120 metres long and 17 metres wide with a maximum draft of 6.75 metres. Each of them can carry 7,500 metric tonnes of cargo.
The vessels will have a single cargo hold each to accommodate bulk, general and project cargoes. Containers will be carried on hatch covers. The ships have been specifically designed to carry multiple large windmill blades on deck.
The defence ministry undertaking has been a major player in the export of warships. In 2014 the company exported CGS Barracuda, an Offshore Patrol Vessel to Mauritius.
This was the first warship to be exported by India. In 2021, the GRSE-built Fast Patrol Vessel PS Zoroaster was exported to the Seychelles.
The shipyard is also currently working on six patrol boats and a TSH dredger for the Government of Bangladesh. In 2023, GRSE delivered the MV Ma Lisha, a passenger-cum-cargo ocean-going ferry, to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. It is the largest and most advanced ferry in that country now.
The journey of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd., a premier warship building company in India, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, a PCMM Level-2 Certified Company, dates back to 1884 when it started its journey as a small workshop to repair vessels of River Steam Navigation Company.
GRSE was taken over by the Government of India in 1960 as the first shipyard in independent India to build a warship for the Indian Navy, the Seaward Defence Boat (SDB) INS Ajay, way back in 1961.
It was conferred the status of a 'Miniratna' Category I company in 2006. The PSU has built over 790 platforms, including 109 warships for the Indian Navy, the Indian Coast Guard, and friendly foreign countries, among others.
