Keel laying ceremony of the 8th ASW SWC was held at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata on 10 May 24. The ceremony was presided by Vice Admiral B Sivakumar, Controller Warship Production & Acquisition in presence of Commodore PR Hari, IN (Retd), Chairman & Managing Director, GRSE and other Senior Officials from Indian Navy.

The contract for indigenous design and construction of 8 x ASW SWC ships was concluded on 29 Apr 19 between MOD and GRSE, Kolkata. As on date six ships of the project have already been launched with delivery of first ship (Arnala) planned in Aug 24.

Arnala Class of ship will replace the in-service Abhay class ASW Corvettes of Indian Navy and are designed to undertake anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, Low Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO) and Mine Laying Operations. Keel laying of Yard 3034, last ship of the Project is yet another significant milestone in Indian Navy’s pursuit towards indigenous shipbuilding and is in consonance with ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives of the nation.

(With Agency Inputs)