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Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers

Indian shipbuilders in Kolkata From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineersmap
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For the Croatian rapper, see Grše.
Not to be confused with Garden Reach.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd, abbreviated as GRSE, is one of India's leading defence shipyards, located in Kolkata.[3] It builds and repairs commercial and naval vessels.[4] GRSE also exports the ships that the company builds.

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Founded in 1884 as a small privately owned company on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, it was renamed as Garden Reach Workshop in 1916. GRSE was nationalised by the Government of India in 1960.[5] The company was awarded the Miniratna public sector undertaking status, with accompanying financial and operational autonomy in September 2006.[6] GRSE is the first Indian shipyard to build 100 warships.[7]

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Facilities

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GRSE has ship building facilities in Kolkata and a diesel engine plant in Ranchi.[7]

It has a large computer-aided design (CAD) centre for ship modelling and design. There are four workshops for plate preparation and steel fabrication.

GRSE has a dry dock for ships up to 26,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT). It has a building berth and two slipways for hull construction. It has a covered all-weather non-tidal wet basin for fitting-out medium and small ships and another fitting-out complex for ships with three berths alongside. In addition, it has two river jetties for berthing smaller vessels up to 60 metres (200 ft) in length. GRSE has engine assemble, test, repair and overhaul facilities in Ranchi, which acquires 62 acres of land.[8]

GRSE and Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK) have inked a long-term concession agreement for GRSE to operate 3 dry docks. Here, GRSE undertakes multiple dry dock repairs of ships up to 160 m length, 20 m beam, and 7 m draught. These docks are situated inside a wet basin, which allows for docking and undocking operations independent of river tidal requirements. The wet basin also has multiple berthing facilities for afloat maintenance and refit operations.[9]

On 1 July 2006, GRSE acquired the loss-making Rajabagan Dockyard (RBD) of Central Inland Water Transport Corporation (CIWTC). RBD's facilities with its 600 metres (2,000 ft) waterfront helped alleviate some of GRSE's space constraints and increase its production capacity.[10]

As of 2011, the shipyard was undergoing a ₹530 crore (US$63 million) upgrade programme, expected to be completed by March 2012.[11] The second phase of the upgrade programme was scheduled to commence from June 2013.[12]

On 30 January 2024, GRSE signed a Frame and Individual License Agreement with Rolls-Royce Solutions, Germany to co-operate in the license production and localisation of the MTU IMO Tier II compliant Series 4000 Marine Engines for governmental ships. The agreement enabled GRSE to manufacture the engines in its Diesel Engine Plant in Ranchi. The engines can power warships of fast patrol vessel, interceptor boat and fast attack craft class ships of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard. It is already deployed on the Car Nicobar-class patrol vessel. The series of engines have power output range of 746–4,300 kW (1,000–5,766 hp). The agreement includes transfer of technology for engine assembly, painting, parts sourcing and after-sales service for these engines.[13][14][15] On 28 January 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed for the same purpose.[16]

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Vessels built

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Commercial vessels

Among commercial and scientific ships, GRSE builds oceanographic and hydrographic research vessels, marine acoustic research ships, non-propelled dredgers, grab hopper dredgers, trailing suction hopper dredgers, tugboats, and bulk carriers.

On 16 July 2024, GRSE signed a contract with the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, for construction of an advanced Ocean Research Vessel (ORV).[17]

On 29 October 2024, the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), an organization under the DRDO, placed an order for a new Acoustic Research Ship (ARS) with the Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Kolkata. The order worth ₹490.98 crore (US$58 million) was signed in Kochi. The ARS will have an overall length of 90 m (300 ft) and a beam of 14 m (46 ft). It will be able to achieve speeds ranging up to 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph). The ship will have a minimum endurance of 30 days or 4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi). It will have a complement of 70 personnel. The vessel will have diesel-electric propulsion and 3 deck cranes will be fitted on board to handle research equipment. The ARS will be able to deploy, tow, and retrieve a variety of equipment, including acoustic modules; conduct high-resolution surveys of sound velocity profiles in time and/or space; and gather data on ocean tides and currents for use in survey optimisation, underwater mooring design, and offshore deployments. Additionally, it will be able to launch, moor, and maintain independent sonobuoys as well as gather data from them. The ship will be able to conduct acoustic system experiments at various speed regimes while remaining silent due to its broad speed range. The ARS will also be equipped with a dynamic positioning system that will enable it to hold its place until Sea State 4.[17]

On 2 June 2025, GRSE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Norweign firm Kongsberg in Oslo for the development of India's first Polar Research Vessel (PRV). This is expected to meet the requirement of National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCOPR). In 2023, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju had informed the Rajya Sabha that India's first Polar Research Vessel (PRV) was expected to be developed within five years, at an estimated cost of ₹2,600 crore (US$310 million).[18][19]

On 11 June 2025, GRSE signed a contract for 2 Coastal Research Vessel (CRV) from the Geological Survey of India. Each CRV will be 64 m (210 ft) long and 12 m (39 ft) wide, with a deadweight tonnage of around 450 tonnes. Built for extended missions, these vessels will feature an endurance of 15 days and a maximum speed of 10 knots. They will be capable of accommodating up to 35 personnel onboard. The vessels — to be equipped with laboratories for data processing and sample analysis — will be capable of multiple roles like geological mapping, mineral exploration, ocean environment monitoring and scientific research. The vessels will be powered by diesel electric propulsion and will feature a dynamic positioning system for operations in Sea State 3 conditions.[20][21][22]

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Launching ceremonyn, ing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk IV project, 23 Mar 2011.

As of March 2024, GRSE has designed and built 108 warships and patrol vessels for the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard for the last 63 years.[23] Vessels built at GRSE include guided-missile frigates, corvettes, fleet tankers, fast patrol vessels, amphibious warfare vessels and hovercraft.[4]

GRSE has built the following notable warships for the Indian Navy.

Current contracts of the Shipyard includes 8 Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft, 3 Project 17A-class frigates, Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel, Sandhayak-class survey vessel.[28]

GRSE also undertakes ship refitting operations. Some of the notable projects of the Ship Repair Division of GRSE includes:[9] –

As of August 2024, GRSE was undertaking 7 ICG and 2 SMPK vessel refit.

Exports

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MCGS Barracuda at sea during delivery

GRSE delivered the corvette Barracuda to Mauritius on 20 December 2014. The contract was worth $58.5 million.[29] With this, India joined the elite club of warship exporters. The Mauritius offshore patrol vessel has an integrated bridge system and cutting edge controls and main engines and can support 83 member crew. It measures 74.10 metres (243.1 ft) in length and 11.40 metres (37.4 ft) in breadth and will be capable of moving at a maximum speed of 22 knots (41 km/h) with an approximate displacement of 1,350 tonnes.

GRSE has been short-listed for a patrol boat project for Vietnam worth ₹600 crore (US$71 million) and is also bidding for an order of two frigates for Philippines.[29][30]

GRSE was reported to be the lowest bidder to supply two light frigates to the Philippines.[31] A total of four firms joined the bidding for the Philippine Navy project: GRSE; Hyundai Heavy Industries Inc. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd., both from South Korea; and Navantia S.A. of Spain. GRSE's light frigate would have been a design based on the Indian Navy's Kamorta-class corvette.[32]

On 22 June 2024, GRSE secured a contract for design, construction and delivery of four multi-purpose vessels (MPV) to transport windmill blades. The deal was signed by Carsten Rehder Schiffsmakler and Reederei, a German shipbuilding entity and GRSE for a value of $54 million. The vessels would displace 7,500 tonnes and will be 120 metres long and 17 metres wide with a maximum draght of 6.75 metres.[33][34] GRSE secured an order of additional 4 MPVs under the "Option Agreement". This brings the total order value of $108 million for 8 ships.[35][36] The contract for the construction and delivery of 5th ship was signed on 3 October 2024.[37][38]

On 1 July 2024, GRSE received another $21 million order for a 800-tonne Advanced Ocean-Going Tug from the Bangladesh Navy. The tugboat will be delivered within 24 months of signing the contract. The tugboat is expected to measure 61 meters in length, about 15.80 meters in width and have a draught of nearly 6.80 meters. The order was received a few weeks after receiving an order for a trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD). GRSE also has an order of 6 patrol boats for the Bangladesh's Department of Fisheries.[39][40]

Neerakshi AUV

On 28 July 2023, GRSE, in partnership with MSME firm Aerospace Engineering Private Ltd. (AEPL), launched a Lightweight Autonomous Underwater Vehicle named Neerakshi (lit. 'Eyes in the Water'). The AUV is primarily tasked for mine countermeasure operations (including mine detection and planned mine disposal) with secondary roles such as reusable target for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training as well as deployment for passive acoustic monitoring from warships. The AUV will have a 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) length, 0.30 m (1 ft 0 in) diameter, weight of 1 kg (2.2 lb) with a 4 hours endurance and 300 m (980 ft) maximum depth. After Navy trials, commercial launch of the platform was expected within six months to a year.[41][42]

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Other products

The Naval Surface Gun NSG is a 30 mm autocannon developed indigenously by GRSE in partnership with technology and production partners – Blue Horizons Strategic Engineering (BHSEL) and Elbit Systems. The gun also employs an indigenous Electro Optical Fire Control System. The gun, with an indigenous content of 60%, was developed within a timeframe of two years. GRSE successfully completed the Sea Acceptance Trials of the gun on 22 May 2025. The guns equip Arnala-class corvettes.[43][44]

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