GRSE hands over first indigenous warship, INS Kamorta to Indian Navy

KOLKATA: When INS Kamorta, the country's first indigenously built warship, an anti submarine warfare corvette was handed over to the Indian Navy by Garden Reach Shipbuilders on Saturday, a small team of officials at Bhilai shook hands among themselves. The super sophisticated warship, the first in its class of four corvettes being built by GRSE for the Navy was built with indigenously developed steel produced by SAIL's Bhilai Steel Plant.

The warship was formally handed over by GRSE chairman and managing director, Rear Admiral (retd.) A K Verma to the Indian Navy at a brief ceremony at GRSE’s fitting-out jetty. While GRSE added yet another feather to its cap, it was a proud moment for Steel Authority of India too. It brought much needed cheer to BSP, which had suffered an unfortunate accident exactly a month ago, in which six people lost their lives. By supplying the special grade high-tensile (DMR249A) steel, BSP has managed to strengthen its portfolio of special steels.

"INS Kamorta is the first Naval warship built in the country with indigenously developed special grade high-tensile (DMR249A) steel produced by Steel Authority of India. The hull of the ship encompasses the bulk of sensors and weapon systems that are also indigenously manufactured by various Indian industries," a GRSE statement said.

In last few years, the Bhilai steel plant, which is the sole supplier of rails for Indian Railways, has developed steel for one of the Railways’ most challenging projects, construction of the 345 km railway line between Jammu and Barmulla at an investment of Rs 19,000 crore. With help from SAIL's R&D wing, BSP also developed ‘rock bolt’, a special grade of TMT rebars for use in the high altitude tunnel inside the Banihal pass. One of SAIL’s most profitable plants, BSP had also developed the special soft iron magnetic plates for the prestigious India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project of the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

The ASW corvette is a major step forward in India's pursuit for self-reliance in indigenous warship building. It also brings the Indian Navy's quest to be a 'Builder's Navy' as well as a true 'Blue-water Navy' with ships and submarines designed and built within the country. While the warship was designed by Directorate of Naval Design (DND), construction of ASW corvettes with advanced stealth features also highlights GRSE’s growing capabilities in building state-of-the-art naval combatants.