Launch of Indian Navy’s Mormugao: All About Project 15B Yard 12705

NationalDefence Bureau,

New Delhi, 14 September 2016

On Saturday, 17 September 20R16, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) will be launching the second ship of the Project 15B, i.e. Visakhapatnam Class ships. The second ship is being named as Mormugao and will be launched ahead of schedule. The ship will be launched by Reena Lanba, wife of Navy Chief. Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of Naval Staff will be the chief guest for the function.  During Launching Ceremony the hull of the ship which is constructed on dry area is floated on water for the first time. It is a milestone event for any vessel.

Mormugao will be launched by Reena Lanba on 17 September

“Indian ship building particularly naval ship building is going for a major expansion and we are having very interesting time. And this will benefit both the PSUs and Private Shipyards”, Vice Admiral GS Pabby, Controller of Warship Production And Acquisition.

The last six years can be called the Golden years of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited. Since 2010, the Yard has delivered one major warship platform to Indian Navy almost every year. Commencing with the high end stealth frigate INS Shivalik, delivered in 2010, the Yard dedicated to the Nation INS Satpura and INS Sahyadri in the same class. This was followed by the highly acclaimed stealth destroyer INS Kolkata sporting a unique silhouette afforded by MF STAR antenna and INS Kochi in subsequent years.  In this period, two highly sophisticated MSVs were also constructed and delivered to foreign clients as high value export orders.

“In last one year, we have launched 5 major warships, which has been a record of sorts. We are working very hard to achieve the target of launch of 212 ships by 2027, which is a real challenge. But we need to work very hard. We need to find some innovative methods how to achieve this”, said Vice Adimaral Pabby.

The destroyer is fitted with LRSAM, Brahmos, AK630

Today, with P15A class guided missile destroyers (Kolkata class) achieving very high level of technology and capability, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited is also constructing four follow-on destroyers, christened as P-15B. The first ship in this class Visakhapatnam was launched in April 2015. On Saturday, 17 September 2016, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) will be launching the second ship, Mormugao, in this class, ahead of schedule.

“I am very happy to inform that number of projects which have been held up for some technical reasons have been given clearance and started moving”, added Vice Admiral Pabby.

“The length of the ship (Murmugao) is 163 meters. It will displace about 7400 tonnes. The firepower comes from Long Range Surface To Air Missile (LRSAM). For the surface target, it is the surface to surface missile system. It has got Airborne early warning (AEW) radar. Electronic warfare is from the BEL. The stealth has been improved by reducing the RCS by introducing full beam super structure and canted ship side to reduce RCS”, Rear Admiral AK Saxena, Director General Naval Design briefed the media person at Kota House.   

Mormugao is second ship of Project 15B

Detailed design of the futuristic stealth frigates, P17A is currently in progress with. Work on this will commence in early 2017. This will be the first time MDL will be using the integrated construction methodology by leveraging the new infrastructure in the yard. This will be a paradigm shift in the way ships will be built in India in the years to come.

MDL is also constructing six Scorpene class submarines for the Indian Navy under a transfer of technology from M/s DCNS of France. The first boat in this class, Kalvari, will be commissioned into the Fleet very shortly. The launching of the second boat is slated later this year. The yard is now ready with the augmented facility created recently for a second line of submarines

For the first time in its history, Mazagon Dock in 2015-16 achieved a VOP above Rs. 4000 crores with an impressive operating profit of Rs.218 crores.