Indian Navy inducts 100th warship built by Kolkata-based firm

A landing craft utility (LCU) - the 100th warship built by the Kolkata-headquartered Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers - was commissioned by the Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam on Monday, marking a big milestone in the shipyard`s history.

The sixth of the eight Mark-IV LCUs was commissioned by Eastern Naval Command chief, Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain at a ceremony attended by GRSE Chairman and Managing Director, Rear Admiral V.K. Saxena (retd) and other senior officials of the Indian Navy.

The entire design of the LCU Mark IV has been developed in-house by the GRSE as per requirements specified by the Indian Navy. The construction of the remaining two ships is progressing as per the schedule, a GRSE release said. LCU are amphibious ships with the primary role being transportation and deployment of Main Battle Tanks, armoured vehicles, troops, and equipment from ship to shore.

Fitted with state-of-the-art equipment and advanced systems like Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS), they can be deployed for multirole activities like beaching operations, search and rescue, disaster relief operations, supply and replenishment and evacuation from distant islands.

The LCU is 63 m in length and 11 m wide and has a displacement of 830 T with a low draught of 1.7 m.