Keel laid on 18 Jun 21 for Second Frigate of P11356 Project at GSL by VCNS, VADM G Ashok Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Keel of the second frigate for the Indian Navy was ceremoniously laid at Goa Shipyard Ltd on 18 June 2021 by VADM G Ashok Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, Vice Chief of Naval Staff in the presence of Cmde B B Nagpal, NM Chairman and Managing Director, GSL, Directors, and other senior officials of the Indian Navy and GSL.
The ship under construction at GSL is a part of indigenous shipbuilding program being executed under IGA with Russian Side for construction of 02 Advanced Missile Frigates for the Indian Navy. The contract was signed on 25 Jan 2019 between Ministry of Defence and Goa Shipyard Limited.
Keel laying is a major milestone activity in the construction of the ship symbolizing formal commencement of construction process. Keel for the first ship was laid on 29 Jan 2021. The first ship is to be delivered in 2026 and second ship after 06 months.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Guest VADM G Ashok Kumar applauded the efforts put in by Shipyard in achieving this milestone, especially the large scale indigenization in collaboration with the Indian industry. It is for first time that these vessels of such vast complexity are being constructed locally in India. There is a considerable changes in the design of the ships to be constructed at Goa Shipyard, as significant indigenous content is being fitted on these ships. It is a major import substitute Project, wherein a large number of major equipment are being substituted with indigenous equivalent, in addition to planned use of significant indigenous build material. The entire hull of the ships is being built with indigenous steel. He also highlighted major achievements of the Shipyard and commended the professionalism displayed by employees of GSL.
During his address, CMD-GSL, highlighted various challenges faced by the Shipyard in executing this complex shipbuilding project. Despite challenges posed by ongoing pandemic COVID-19, the Shipyard continued the production activities with active support of employees and innovative solutions. He thanked the Indian Navy for their unstinted support and reiterated GSL’s commitment to cater for the requirement of Maritime Defence Forces through indigenous shipbuilding.