Know-how will be transferred, work will start by mid-2021, says CMD

After clouds of uncertainty, the Hindustan Shipyard Limited, which achieved a turnaround, is inching forward smoothly to sign a contract and begin construction of five Fleet Support Ships for the Indian Navy in collaboration with a Turkish shipyard.

The project is estimated between ₹10,000 crore and ₹14,000 crore. “After obtaining clearance from the Ministry of Defence, we are signing the contract with a shipyard based in Turkey and begin construction in collaboration with it by mid-2021,” HSL Chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral LV Sarat Babu (Retd) told The Hindu.

The HSL which planned to have a strategic partnership with Hyundai Heavy Industries dropped it earlier following the latter’s insistence on constructing the first ship in South Korea and procuring major components from the global shipping giant.

Each Fleet Support Ship will have a displacement capacity of 45,000 DWT.

Mr. Sarat Babu said as part of the contract, the ‘know-how and know-why’ from the foreign collaborator would be transferred to HSL to give a fillip to local MSMEs. The MSMEs specialising in fabrication, blasting, piping, cable installation and outfitting will be benefited.

Pontoon Contract

In competitive bidding, the HSL recently bagged a prestigious contract for construction of semi-submersible pontoons worth ₹420 crore from the Navy.

Mr. Sarat Babu said the pontoons were being used as platforms to undertake repair of ships and submarines.

The shipyard achieved a milestone in submarine repair capability by completing a normal refit of submarine INS Sindhuvir ahead of schedule. The yard also completed a maiden refit of INS Astradharini, a torpedo launch and recovery vessel for the Navy, ahead of contractual refit schedule.

More Orders

The CMD said the yard bagged orders on competitive basis for construction of two Diving Support Vessels worth ₹2,390 crore and four 50-tonne bollard pull tugs worth ₹260 crore for the Navy. It also won orders for construction of four pontoons worth ₹10.25 crore and three flap gates worth ₹20 crore from the Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam.

The company cleared ₹108 crore towards its legacy liabilities from its earnings for partial settlement of Essar Oil and resolved a long pending issue related to a bulk carrier built for Goodearth Maritime Ltd after five years and the vessel had sailed from the HSL to the location of a new buyer sometime ago.