CSL launches three vessels, including Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft for Navy

Kochi, Oct 18 (PTI) The Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), a public-sector shipbuilder here, on Saturday launched the Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC) built for the Indian Navy.

CSL also launched a Hybrid Electric Methanol-Ready Commissioning Service Operation Vessel (CSOV) and a Trailer Suction Hopper Dredger, the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) Dredge Godavari.

According to CSL, ASW SWC was launched by Renu Rajaram wife of Vice Admiral R Swaminathan, Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition, Naval Headquarters, Indian Navy, New Delhi.

A statement by CSL said that this is the sixth vessel in a series of eight ASW SWCs being constructed for the Indian Navy at CSL.

The vessel will bear the name “INS Magdala” upon commissioning into the Navy, CSL said.

“Designed and built indigenously, the ASW SWC is a 78-meter-long, 896-tonne craft capable of achieving speeds up to 25 knots. It is equipped with advanced underwater sensors, lightweight torpedoes, ASW rockets, and mine-laying capability,” CSL statement said.

The vessel can also conduct low-intensity maritime operations, coordinate ASW missions with aircraft, and conduct search-and-rescue operations in coastal waters.

This ASW SWC class will replace the Indian Navy’s Abhay-class corvettes, significantly strengthening India’s near-shore anti-submarine capabilities with enhanced automation, manoeuvrability, and endurance, CSL said.

The CSL Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD), with a hopper capacity of 12,000 cubic meters, is the largest in the country, built for the DCI, and was launched by Sirobhushanam Sujatha of DCI.

The Commissioning Service Operation Vessel (CSOV), specially designed to support the construction, commissioning, operation, and maintenance of offshore wind farms by transporting personnel and equipment and serving as a floating base for wind turbine specialists, was launched by Vasantha, wife of B Kasiviswanathan, Chairperson, Cochin Port Authority, CSL said.

“ASW SWC was steeped in what I call ‘Indianness’, with more than 90 per cent of its design and equipment developed in India, underscoring the nation’s ambition for self-reliance in defence. These three launches underline the fact that India’s maritime story is no longer just about building ships, but about building capacity, confidence, and credibility,” Madhu S Nair, CMD of CSL, said.

“The triple launch marks a major milestone in India’s shipbuilding and maritime engineering sector, highlighting the nation’s engineering excellence, indigenisation drive, and commitment to sustainable maritime development under the Maritime India Vision 2030 and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives of the Government of India,” CSL added. PTI TBA TBA ROH