At a time when the security of water bodies have gained utmost importance, be it due to illegal fishing or terrorist activities, the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) Kolkata have yet again managed to further strengthen the ties between India and Bangladesh by bagging an order to manufacture six patrol boats for Bangladesh.
The GRSE, a mini-Ratna category- I defence PSU and a leading warship building company, bagged an order to build six patrol boats for sustainable coastal and marine fisheries projects under the Department of Fisheries, Government of Bangladesh.
The order has been awarded to GRSE through international competitive bidding where other international players from Europe and Asia were in the fray, said the spokesperson.
The 13 metres surveillance patrol boats for Marine Fisheries Surveillance Check-post (MFSC), Government of Bangladesh, will be used in surveillance activities, shallow water operations and patrolling fishing grounds day and night for illegal fishing gear and retrieval of survivors. The patrol crafts will be fitted with a water jet drive, suitable for shallow water operation up to 0.60 metres.
It may be noted that GRSE has the distinction in exporting the first ‘Made in India’ warship when the shipyard delivered a multipurpose offshore patrol vessel (OPV), ‘CGS Barracuda’ to the Mauritius Coast Guard.
In recent times, the shipyard had also delivered a Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) to the Government of Seychelles and bagged an order on competitive bidding for construction and supply of one ocean-going passenger & cargo vessel for the Republic of Guyana.
The shipbuilding company has been an exporter of prefabricated steel bridges to friendly countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka for use in disaster management.
GRSE has made a significant contribution towards ‘Atmanirbhar Abhiyaan’ through advancement in state-of-the-art warship design and construction by achieving over 90 per cent indigenous content onboard ASW Corvettes and Landing Craft Utility ships.
The company said, “Having modernized our infrastructure facilities, today GRSE is in a position to construct 20 warships concurrently using advanced modular integrated shipbuilding technology in line with the best in the world.
With the adoption of new advanced technology and ‘Industry 4.0 practices’, The shipyard is on its way to becoming a global leader in warship construction.