The first three ships in the series of eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts under construction in Cochin Shipyard Limited for Indian Navy were launched at CSL’s Kochi Yard.

The launching of the three vessels was carried out in the presence of Chief Guest from Indian Navy, Vice Admiral Sanjay J Singh, Vice Chief of Naval Staff. Vice Admiral Suraj Berry, Commander-in-Chief and Vice Admiral Puneet Bahl,  Commandant INA.

anti-submarine operators

Contract for building eight ASW SWC ships was signed between Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL, on April 30, 2019. The Mahe Class of Ships will replace the in-service Abhay class ASW Corvettes of Indian Navy and are designed to undertake anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, Low Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO) and Mine Laying Operations including subsurface surveillance.

The first three ships in this series should bear the name ‘INS Mahe, INS Malvan and INS Mangrol upon commissioning into the Indian Navy.

The vessels are 78.0 m long, 11.36 m wide with a draught of about 2.7 m. The displacement is about 896 tonnes, with a maximum speed of 25 knots and endurance of 1800 nautical miles. The vessels are designed to fit indigenously developed, state-of-the-art Sonars, for underwater surveillance.

Concurrent launching of the three ships is yet another milestone achievement for Cochin Shipyard. The first ship of the project is planned to be ready for delivery by November 2024, a press release said.