GSI issues LoA to GRSE for two coastal research vessels

Kolkata, April 10 Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd received a Letter of Award (LoA) from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) for the construction and delivery of two Coastal Research Vessels (CRVs), an official said.

The order is worth Rs 489.98 crore and has to be executed within a period of 36 months from the signing of the contract between GRSE and GSI.

According to the Union Ministry of Mines - under which GSI operates - these CRVs will be built to operate within India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) at depths ranging from 5-1,000 metres. They will have a minimum service life of 30 years with normal maintenance. They will be at sea for about 270 days a year at different intervals.

An official said that these vessels will be about 62 metres long and 12 metres wide with a draught requirement of 3.2 metres, adding that their deadweight tonnage will be about 450 Tons.

“The ships will have a top speed of 10 knots and an endurance of 15 days at one go,” he said.

He said that the CRVs will have diesel-electric propulsion, adding that while diesel generators will drive the trustees at normal times, batteries - charged using shore power - will be used while cruising from departure and stationary scientific operations.

“The batteries should allow high-speed charging and have a warranty of 10 years,” he said.

He added that the main activities of the vessels will be offshore geological mapping, mineral exploration - including dredging, ocean environment monitoring and research, as well as shipboard data processing and sample analysis in modern, well-equipped scientific laboratories.

GRSE, primarily a builder of warships that has delivered a record 110 of them to the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard, is fast emerging as a destination for those on the lookout for advanced scientific vessels.

The shipyard is already working on an Acoustic Research Ship for the DRDO and an Ocean Research Vessel for the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

The shipyard is now working on 41 vessels, including 17 warships for the Indian Navy. The warships, of four classes, include three Advanced Frigates under the Navy's Project 17A and four Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels.

--IANS

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