Kolkata, May 17 (IANS) Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd will be launching the first Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel (NGOPV), being built by it for the Navy, on May 20.

The shipyard is building four such warships for the Navy.

The NGOPV will also have a high indigenous content, officials said, providing a boost to the country’s Atmanirbharta goal.

Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Indian Navy, will be the chief guest during the event, while his wife, Sarita Vatsayan, will launch the warship.

GRSE has built and delivered several Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) to the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard over the years. The shipyard also built the OPV MCGS Barracuda, the first warship exported by India to Mauritius in 2014. GRSE bagged the Defence Minister’s Award of Excellence for the in-house Design Effort for that warship.

The NGOPVs will be much larger warships than the OPVs built earlier and have greater endurance and firepower. These platforms will be about 113 metres long and 14.6 metres wide, with a displacement of 3,000 Tons. The NGOPVs will achieve speeds of up to 23 knots. Their endurance will be 8,500 nautical miles at a speed of 14 knots. The crew will comprise 24 officers and over 100 sailors.

The NGOPVs will play a variety of roles. With a draught requirement of only 4 metres, they would be able to operate in coastal waters, protecting offshore assets, carrying out maritime interdiction, as well as visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) operations. They will also be part of presence-cum-surveillance and mine warfare missions while having the capability to support special operations.

These warships will also participate in ‘Out of Area’ Contingency Operations, non-combatant evacuation, convoy operations, anti-piracy missions and counter-infiltration operations. Apart from these, they will take on poachers and traffickers and participate in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, as well as search and rescue missions. They will also be able to operate as a hospital, and COMINT ships apart from providing fleet maintenance support.

–IANS

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