GRSE Delivers Eighth LCU Ship To Indian Navy

02 Jan 2021

DEFENCE PSU GRSE has delivered eighth landing craft utility (LCU) ships manufactured by it to the Indian Navy, providing a major boost to the country’s defence preparedness, a top company official said.

The amphibious ships, to be based in the strategic location of Andaman and Nicobar Islands — which is close to various routes leading to the South China Sea — “are specifically designed to undertake landing operations in most difficult beaching areas”, GRSE chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral (retd) V K Saxena said.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) has successfully delivered the last of eight LCUs manufactured for the Indian Navy, he said. The LCU ships, equipped with state-of-the-art technology, were developed in-house with 90 per cent of its parts indigenously manufactured. “These ships are very unique in their design and class in the world. A very specific kind of requirement was given by the Indian Navy — speed of 15 knots, a displacement of 900- odd tonnes and a low draught for beaching in the shallowest of waters,” Saxena told PTI. Apart from troops, each ship can accommodate main battle tanks, personnel carriers and other Army vehicles.

Courtesy: Opera News/ The Hitavada