100th Warship of Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited, in LCU L-56, Commissioned in Visakhapatnam. The sixth ship of Class of Eight Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mark-IV vessels - IN LCU L-56 - was commissioned by Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam on 29th of July 2019. It is the 100th warship of Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata, a Mini Ratna Category 1 & leading shipyard of the country.
What is LCU?
The Landing Craft Utility (LCU) is a type of boat used by amphibious forces to transport equipment and troops to the shore. They are capable of transporting tracked or wheeled vehicles and troops from amphibious assault ships to beachheads or piers.
GRSE and India Navy Deal
GRSE signed an agreement for ₹21 billion (equivalent to ₹32 billion or US$470 million in 2018) with the Indian Navy for designing and building eight LCU ships on 28 September 2011 and construction began in September 2012.
Design of Mark- IV LCUs
The ship is 63 meters long, an overall beam of 11 meters, a hull draught of 2.2 meters and displaces around 830 tonnes.[3] They are powered by two MTU 16V 4000 M53 marine diesel engines (every 1840 KWs). They are equipped with two 30mm CRN-91 mounted guns with a Bharat Electronics-built EON-51 electro-optic director.
The LCU can carry up to 216 personnel and 145 tonnes of cargo. It is fitted with a hydraulic bow ramp
Features of LCU L-56
LCU Mk-IV ship is an amphibious ship with its primary role being transportation and deployment of Main Battle Tanks, Armored Vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore. These ships, based at the Andaman and Nicobar Command, can be deployed for multirole activities like beaching operations, search and rescue, disaster relief operations, supply, and replenishment and evacuation from distant islands.
Designed to accommodate 216 personnel, LCU is equipped with two Indigenous CRN 91 Guns to provide artillery fire support during landing operations. The ship is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment and advanced systems like the Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS).
Make in India
The LCU Mk-IV Class of ships is fitted with close to 90% indigenous content in line with the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative towards achieving self-reliance and indigenization.
The Mk-IV LCU Vessels are a further improved version of the Mk-III LCU Vessels presently being used by the Indian Navy. The entire design of the LCU Mark-IV ship has been developed in-house by GRSE as per requirements specified by the Indian Navy.
Another Deal of GRSE with Indian Navy
Currently, GRSE has a strong order book of over Rs. 27,500 crores equipping the shipyard with a deep pool of revenue-generating projects.22 ships including eight ASWSWC, threeP17A, one ASWC, four Nos. Survey Vessels (Large), twoLCUs, four FPVsare in various stages of construction and are expected to be delivered to the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard accordingly. Three ships of Project P17A Advanced Stealth Frigates are being constructed using Modular Construction Technology, 3D Modelling concepts and latest software like Aveva Marine and NAPA. The first ship is progressing at a rapid pace with production being ahead of schedule while production of the second frigate is slated to commence shortly.
GRSE’s association with the Indian Navy is long and strong as over the last six decades the shipyard has been building warships and other vessels for the country’s Navy and Coast Guard. Over the last 59 years, GRSE has built around 780 platforms which include 100 warships to the Indian Navy.
Comments
Post a Comment