GRSE delivers 106th Warship: LCU L-58

Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd., (GRSE), a leading warship building and Mini-ratna Category 1 Company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, tops off year 2020 with “Delivery” of the “Last of Eight LCU Project” & “Start Production” of the First Ship of Eight ASWSWC Project. GRSE delivered IN LCU L-58 (Yard 2099), eighth and last in the series of Landing Craft Utility Ships to the Indian Navy. This ship is the 106th Warship built and delivered by GRSE so far, since its inception in 1960, the highest no. of warships delivered by any Indian Shipyard till date. The Protocol of delivery and acceptance was signed between Rear Admiral VK Saxena, IN (Retd.), Chairman & Managing Director, GRSE and Lt Cdr Krishan Kumar Yadav in the presence of Cmde Sanjeev Nayyar, IN (Retd), Director (Shipbuilding), Cmde P R Hari, Director (Personnel) and RK Dash, Director (Finance) and other Senior Officials of GRSE and Indian Navy. The LCU is the third ship delivered by GRSE in 2020, no mean feat considering the operational constraints imposed by the global pandemic of COVID 19. The Shipyard has delivered 14 ships in the last 42 months which clocks an average of 3 months per ship. The complete design of the LCU Mark IV ships has been developed in-house by GRSE as per requirements specified by the Indian Navy which necessitate a unique design with no precedence worldwide. The 62.8 m long and 11 m wide LCU has a displacement of 830 T and can achieve a speed of 15 knots. The LCU is designed to accommodate 216 personnel and is equipped with Two Indigenous CRN 91 Guns to provide Artillery Fire support during landing operations. The ship is fitted with State-of-the-Art Equipment and Advanced Systems like the Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS). In line with the Govt. of India’s Make In India Initiative towards Self Reliance & Indigenisation efforts, the LCU Mark IV Class of Ships are fitted with close to 90% indigenous equipment fit and multiple innovations.