SOURCE: TNN
Goa Shipyard Ltd has emerged as the front runner to build two pollution control vessels for the Indian Coast Guard, pipping L&T Shipbuilding and two other public sector shipyards. GSL will build the vessels for approximately Rs 600 crore once the final contract is inked, chairman and managing director of GSL, Bharat Bhushan Nagpal said. GSL is already executing a follow-on order for five offshore patrol vessels for the Coast Guard, the first of which was commissioned on Friday.
“GSL has emerged as lowest bidder to build two pollution control vessels. This is a Rs 600 crore project for the Indian Coast Guard,” Nagpal said.Contract negotiations for the two pollution control vessels will begin with the defence ministry and the Indian Coast Guard, and once the terms are decided, the contract will be inked. “In another two or three months we hope that the contract will be signed. The build period is 46 months for delivery,” Nagpal said.
The ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic has affected the entire supply chain logistics and has also forced GSL to put in place additional precautionary measures. “We have isolated each section at the shipyard. We are now operating in two shifts and each shift does not interact. We are also sanitising everything in between shifts,” Nagpal said.
Speaking about the stealth frigates that GSL is building for the Indian Navy, Nagpal said that though slightly delayed, the pace will pick up in the coming weeks. “We will be receiving drawings from Russia by end of May. We have already ordered the plates and should commence production by July or at the latest by early August,” Nagpal said.
The keel for the first of the two guided missile frigates for the Indian Navy, known as Project 1135.6, were to be laid in early 2020. The stealth warships, valued at over Rs 14,250 crore, will be built at GSL based on technology transfer from Russia’s Yantar Shipyard and Severnoye Design Bureau.
https://defencenewsofindia.com/gsl-makes-lowest-bid-to-build-oil-spill-control-ships-for-the-indian-coast-guard/
