GRSE lays keel of third advanced stealth frigate ship under Project 17A

PTI, Mar 8, 2021, 7:00 PM IST

Kolkata: The keel of the third advanced stealth frigate ship under Project 17A, being built by Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) for the Indian Navy, has been laid, an official said here on Monday.

GRSE, which was awarded its biggest contract for building the three ships, has already launched the first advanced stealth frigate ‘Himgiri’ in December.

”GRSE achieved a major milestone with the ‘laying of the Keel’ of Yard 3024, a ship of the Advanced Stealth Frigate Project, P 17A,” the official said.

He said that despite huge challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the shipyard launched its first ship of P 17A, ‘Himgiri’ ahead of schedule on December 14, 2020.

”The keel laying of Yard 3024 has also been achieved ahead of schedule,” he said.

The keel for the second ship was laid on January 24, 2020, he said.

The official said that the keel was laid by a senior operative, Mithailal Pasi, structural fitter of shipbuilding shop at the main works unit of GRSE on Friday, in the presence of Vice-Admiral Sandeep Naithani, controller of Warship Production and Acquisition, Indian Navy and Rear Admiral G K Harish, Director General of Naval Design and Rear Admiral V K Saxena, (retd), chairman and managing director, GRSE.

The contract for construction of the three stealth frigates under Project 17A is the largest ever order awarded to the shipyard by the Ministry of Defence with a value of over Rs 19,293 crore, the GRSE official said.

The official said that the important milestones of shipbuilding involve the process of cutting of steel which is called the ‘start production’ stage followed by ‘keel laying,’ subsequent to which, the other blocks are built around the keel block.

In the next phase, the ship is launched in water for the first time, following which the ship is outfitted with equipment and systems, followed by trials of equipment, he said.

On completion of all trials and once the compartments are ready, the ship is delivered to the customer, the official said.

The P17A ships, the most advanced state-of-the-art guided missile frigates, are equipped with a powerful weapon and sensor package capable of neutralising threats in all three dimensions of air, surface and sub-surface, he said.