Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) will build a Strategic Operations Vessel (SOV), a sort of mini-submarine at an estimated cost of Rs.3,000 crore. Building the mini submarine would help the yard in acquiring technologies and gaining the expertise in building larger submarines in future, Rear Admiral (retd.) N.K Mishra, Chairman and Managing Director of HSL said.
He handed over the submarine INS Sindhukirti after refit to the Indian Navy at HSL here on Friday. “The expertise gained in building the mini submarine would help the yard to emerge as the second one in the country after Mazagon Docks Limited to have the capacity to build submarines in future”, Rear Admiral (Retd.) Mishra told the media on the sidelines of the handing over ceremony.
Saying that ‘submarine repair’ required specialised knowledge and skills, he attributed the ‘successful refit’ to team work by the workforce and officers of HSL, Naval Dockyard, Ship Building Centre and retired submariners of the Navy. Submarine repair was 10 times more complicated than repairing a ship and HSL has proved its expertise in refitting submarines.
“It took nine years to complete the project worth Rs.900 crore and we are expecting another submarine refitting order from the Navy,” he said.
He said the HSL had signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Heavy Industries, the largest shipyard of Korea, in January this year to improve its functioning. A team from Hyundai will visit HSL in July. “They will tell us the gaps at our yard and the measures required to improve the performance of HSL. It will be a win-win situation for both," he said.
HSL has on its hands, orders worth Rs.1,500 crore for building 23 ships and ship repair orders worth Rs.150 crore. Two major orders worth Rs.8,000 crore for building two LPDs (landing platform docks) for the Navy, each costing Rs.4,000 crores were also were also in the pipeline. He said the HSL was also expecting another major order worth Rs.10,000 crore for building a fleet support ship.
