The Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) launched an ocean-going passenger and cargo ferry which was manufactured for the Republic of Guyana, making this PSU the first shipyard in India to have designed and launched a ship for a Latin American country.
The ship was launched in the presence of Juan Anthony Edghill, minister of public works, Cooperative Republic of Guyana and other government representatives of the foreign country. Members of the Indian armed forces and GRSE officials were at the launch. The 70-metre-long vessel, ‘MV Ma Lisha’ was built by GRSE after it bagged the US$ 12.73 million contract through competitive bidding via a tender process. It is being lauded as a proud achievement since, despite challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, GRSE succeeded in launching this ferry less than seven months after its keel was laid.
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The minister, Mr Edghill highlighted that both countries were a land of many rivers and spoke on the importance of this vessel in his country’s northwest sector which has a lot of movement along riverine and coastal routes. The ship will be the largest of all vessels operating there. He reminded the guests how the fifth of May, the day when the ship ‘SS Whitby’ docked at Highbury, is still celebrated as Indian Arrival Day in Guyana.
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Commodore PR Hari IN (retd), chairman and managing director, GRSE, said the ship will be able to accommodate 294 passengers (including 14 crew members), 14 cars, two trucks, 14 containers and other cargo, and transport them at speeds up to 15 knots. He said the project has been a labour of love since over 40 per cent of the population in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, are of Indian origin.
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