Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched Surya, India's first indigenous fleet support ship, at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. The vessel is the first of five being built for ₹19,000 crore. HSL expects to deliver Surya next year. The 225-metre ship will replenish Navy warships with fuel, water, ammunition and stores during prolonged operations at sea.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh |

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday launched ‘Surya’, India’s first indigenous fleet support ship, at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL) in Visakhapatnam, marking a major step in the Navy’s efforts to strengthen its reach and endurance at sea.

‘Surya’ is the first of five fleet support ships being built at a cost of ₹19,000 crore. A warship’s launch is a significant stage in its construction as it marks the vessel entering the water for the first time. Navy Chief Admiral Krishna Swaminathan was present at the event.

A Bigger Maritime Ambition

“India needs strong maritime capability. Our goal is to go beyond self-reliance and become a global maritime power,” Singh said.

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The launch underlines India’s growing focus on building critical naval platforms at home. More importantly, the fleet support ships will help the Navy remain at sea for longer periods, an increasingly important capability as its fleet expands and its responsibilities in the Indian Ocean region grow.

Singh also laid the keel of another fleet support ship and inaugurated an upgraded slipway and a 300-tonne crane at the public sector shipyard. The Defence Ministry said the infrastructure would strengthen HSL’s capacity to build larger and more complex vessels while supporting India’s maritime capabilities.

Keeping Warships At Sea Longer

HSL is expected to deliver ‘Surya’ to the Navy next year, while the remaining vessels are expected to follow at the rate of one every 10 months.

The fleet support vessels will be 225 metres long and 32 metres wide. They will replenish warships at sea with fuel, water, ammunition and stores, allowing the naval fleet to operate for prolonged periods without returning to harbour.

“The launch of FSS-1 (Surya) is a symbol of achievement, keel laying of FSS-5 is a symbol of resolve and the new slipway is a symbol of our growing capability… Our goal should be to design better, build faster, and deliver on time,” Singh said.

Expanding Fleet Needs More Support

The Navy currently operates four fleet support vessels commissioned between 1996 and 2011. It needs additional support ships as its fleet expands and its roles and responsibilities in the Indian Ocean region increase.

The five new vessels are therefore more than an addition to the Navy’s numbers. Their ability to replenish ships at sea can give the fleet greater operational flexibility and reduce the need for warships to frequently return to harbour for essential supplies.

“Self-reliance is an important milestone, but global competitiveness is the next big leap,” Singh said, stressing that Indian shipyards must meet global benchmarks in quality, cost, technology, delivery and reliability, .

The Navy is working towards achieving full self-reliance by 2047, when India completes 100 years of independence.

HSL Gets Bigger Shipbuilding Muscle

HSL’s Slipway-4 has been extended and strengthened to allow the shipyard to build and launch vessels of up to 45,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT), according to the Defence Ministry.

The new 300-tonne Goliath crane, spanning Slipways 3 and 4, will allow faster and more precise handling of heavier blocks used in modern block construction.

“The new infrastructure will strengthen HSL’s ability to undertake larger and more complex shipbuilding programmes and support modern block construction,” the ministry said.

Together, the launch of ‘Surya’, construction of additional fleet support ships and expansion of HSL’s infrastructure point to a broader effort to strengthen both the Navy’s ability to sustain operations at sea and India’s domestic capacity to build increasingly complex vessels.

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