Developing indigenous capability in shipbuilding was vital for the country, especially for the Indian Navy in view of the need to protect our vast coastline, said S. Gopinath, Executive Director, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited Power Plant Piping Unit, Tirumayam, here on Friday.
Speaking at a two-day workshop on welding for the shipbuilding industry at the Welding Research Institute (WRI) of the BHEL here, Mr. Gopinath said the workshop would benefit delegates from both government and private sector shipbuilding companies as it was the outcome of joint efforts by the WRI, the National Institute for Research and Development in Defence Shipbuilding (NIRDESH) and Mazagon Dock Limited to share know-how and to develop state-of-the-art methodology and capabilities for world class shipbuilding. The joint efforts of shipbuilders and WRI would enable them not only to meet domestic requirements but to manufacture for the global markets in the niche industry. Inaugurating the workshop, Commander R.P. Raghunath, Director (Shipbuilding), Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL), Mumbai, said there were many challenges facing the shipbuilding industry in India, particularly with regard to the welding of the thin steel plates used for the hulls of ships. The joint effort with WRI would help arrive at solutions for the large number of problems encountered in the field.
Captain Ramesh Babu, Project Director, NIRDESH, Kozhikode, said that while shipbuilding and maritime achievements had historically been one of India’s strengths, these skills had been neglected over time and now needed to be re-built to regain India's glory as a maritime nation.
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R. Easwaran, General Manager, WRI, and G. Ravichandran, Additional GM, WRI, spoke.