Gujarat builds 1st survey catamarans for Indian navy

Gujarat’s shipbuilding company, Alcock Ashdown, has broken into a new league. The Gujarat government-owned PSU has built the ‘hull form’ of two catamarans for the Indian Navy, the first catamarans for hydrographic survey to be inducted by the navy.

The first ship christened, INS Makar, was launched in early February and the second, INS Meen, was launched early on Tuesday morning at the shipyard in Bhavnagar.

With this advanced hydrographic suite, the Indian Navy will become one of the few navies in the world to have this kind of survey capability, and Alcock Ashdown has emerged as a leader in integrating complex systems. The vessels will be stationed in Vishakhapatnam. They are part of a fleet of six vessels being built by the shipyard for the Indian Navy at a total cost of Rs 800 crore.
Managing director of Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation and the shipyard, VS Gadhvi, told DNA that this is a significant achievement. He explained that this crucial assignment was not awarded to AAGL by the Indian Navy because it’s a government company, but through a competitive bidding process in which private players had also participated.

Executive director, naval projects, Subir Sengupta, says the primary role of the vessels will be to conduct coastal hydrographic survey of major and minor ports and harbours, their approaches and limited oceanographic survey.