Shipbuilding Industry in India

nrj

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Shipbuilding – the key to industrial growth

Modern shipbuilding was taken up in India only after independence, and it grew mainly by augmenting repair yards. Even though major initiatives were taken for industrialization of the nation, and despite the fact that most of the worlds industrialized nations had attained a position of eminence in shipbuilding at some point of their industrial growth, the Indian shipbuilding industry's growth has remained largely lackadaisical, especially when compared with East Asia and China. A vibrant shipbuilding industry spurs industrial growth in almost all other sectors, ranging from steel, and heavy industry to electronics and IT, thereby greatly increasing employment and national income. This assumes urgency, considering that 10 million Indians will enter the job market every year for the next 15 years. So what is required to bring about the desired vibrancy in shipbuilding? We are faced with a chicken and egg situation. For Indian shipbuilding to promote all round industrialization, it needs to grow, and achieve what could be termed a critical mass by way of new buildings. Only then will Indian shipyards will become 'big buyers' and command favourable prices, commercial terms and delivery periods from suppliers. This would eventually generate favourable conditions for investment in equipment and ancillary industries.

For shipbuilding to flourish the essentials are efficient facilities, capable human resources and, above all, orders for ships. With regard to orders, shipowners tend to gravitate towards builders with a large reference lists of timely deliveries of quality ships. So how do Indian shipyards attract buyers away from Japan, Korea and now China, especially in today's depressed conditions? It can be done only by quoting a price sufficiently lower than that of the established giants, so that the buyer is willing to take a risk or chance and place orders with them. This is the route that was followed by Japan to wean away orders from Europe, and the lesson was not lost on the Koreans and Chinese. Korean yards have now become the builders of choice. Government shipbuilding subsidies, as a deliberate policy, is the time tested means of kickstarting the process and moving towards self sustainment. Subsidies were in place in India till 2007, when they were withdrawn. The withdrawal happened to coincide with the sudden collapse of the worldwide shipbuilding boom, dealing our yards a double whammy. Recently, subsidy has been approved for orders placed upto August 2007, ie the date that the subsidy scheme was suspended, but the future policy remains unfinalised. However, the some support for shipbuilding is expected in the policy being finalized by the NMCC (National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council), such as government preference for Indian built and Indian flagged vessels. The hon'ble Minister of Defence has also stated that in future, all naval ships are to be built in India.

Indian shipyards have improved their facilities, and substantial investments have been made by the private industry in recent years. However, facilities by themselves, would in all likelihood not yield desired results, especially for naval ships. The recent approval by the CCS of the norms for forming joint ventures between Defence PSUs and the private industry will hopefully clear the way for JVs between defence and private shipyards, thereby marrying the experience and expertise of the former with the capacity and facilities of the latter. If well managed, such arrangements could accelerate the indigenous shipbuilding programmes of the Navy and Coast Guard. Also, large value defence imports are on the anvil and successful suppliers will have substantial offset obligations. Allowing creation of Greenfield shipyards with larger quantum of FDI, as an offset could also be considered as a viable route to increasing indigenous capacity.

Quality human resources are vital for the shipbuilding industry. However, national training facilities presently do not measure up to task of providing training comparable with that available in leading shipbuilding countries. Here again, achieving the critical mass would probably lead to improvement in training facilities.

No discussion on shipbuilding can be complete without dwelling on ship design. While the Indian Navy had the foresight to set up in-house capability for warship design, other governmental institutions like the NSRDC have not developed as intended. It is indeed heartening to see the setting up of private ship design organizations. However, design requires knowledge and experience in equal measure, and it would be useful for stakeholders to evolve HR policies which attract the best talent, preferably with appropriate shipperating experience, and also reduce turbulence resulting from tenured incumbents. The time for a policy review is opportune, particularly in view of the Navy training all its new induction officers in engineering specializations.

By Vice Admiral Birinder Singh Randhawa, PVSM AVSM VSM

Source
 

LurkerBaba

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New yards, techniques, to speed up warship building

By Ajai Shukla

A humming construction site in Mumbai's Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) holds the promise of a new era in warship building in India. Everything about this emerging new shipyard is enormous: the 200-metre-long workshop; a Goliath crane that dwarfs everything around; and an expansive "wet basin", which is an enclosed harbour that will comfortably house two large warships.

This is MDL's new Rs 826 crore "modular" shipyard that is expected to slash down the time taken to build warships for the Indian Navy. Defence shipyards currently take over ten years to build major warships like destroyers, frigates and corvettes. When the new yard is commissioned in June 2013, frigates will be built in 60 months; destroyers will take 72 months.

Building warships faster is crucial for the navy. Its Maritime Capability Perspective Plan (MCPP) of 2005 envisions a 160-ship navy, with 90 capital warships like aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and corvettes. Today, however, the navy has just 134 ships, with less than half the destroyers and frigates it needs. Bridging this gap of 26 ships, while also replacing warships that are being decommissioned after completing their 30-40 year service lives, requires a major boost in indigenous build capability.

To achieve this, MDL --- along with the other big defence shipyard, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Kolkata (GRSE) --- is abandoning traditional shipbuilding. That involves welding a hull together and launching it into water, after which swarms of craftsmen painstakingly work in the warship's cramped compartments, installing propulsion gear, electrically equipment, weapons, sensors and hundreds of kilometres of pipes and wiring. This is a slow process.

Instead, construction will now be like a giant Lego game: convenient 300-ton blocks will be built separately, and then assembled together into a complete warship. Each block will be fabricated in a well-lit, ventilated workshop with multi-level access, and will be complete with all the piping, electrical wiring and fitments that run through a ship. Each block must dovetail precisely with its neighbouring block, every wire, pipe and compartment coming together in perfect alignment.

PK Bhattacharjee, General Manager of the Mazagon Modernisation Project (MMP), who is conducting Business Standard through an exclusive, pre-inauguration tour of the shipyard, explains what happens next. After a block is completed in the worker-friendly environment of the modular workshop, the workshop's roof is retracted and the rail-mounted Goliath crane reaches in and lifts out the 300-tonne block. It then transports it to the slipway where it takes its place in the warship that is taking shape. After about 20 blocks come together, the 3000-tonne semi-built warship is launched into the water and towed to the "wet basin", where the superstructure, and weapons and sensors are put in.

"The capability to lift 300 tonnes is what makes modular shipbuilding possible. For decades, we have worked with 40-tonne cranes," explains Battacharjee.

The first warships that will emerge from this process are 7 frigates of Project 17A. MDL will build four frigates, while GRSE will build three. The Project 17A frigates will be outwardly similar to their predecessors, the three Shivalik-class frigates of Project 17, which MDL has just completed. But modular shipbuilding is expected to ensure that Project 17A is completed must faster.

Back in MDL's corporate office the new chairman, Rear Admiral (Retired) Rahul Kumar Shrawat, explains that the technological challenge of modular shipbuilding lies in designing each 300-tonne block so that it is fully kitted and fits exactly into the next. Since this process is new to India, Fincantieri, an Italian shipbuilder, will provide consultancy for the new design process.

"MDL's board, in coordination with our partner shipyard, GRSE, will decide on the design consultancy for Project 17A. It will be a shipyard's decision. The navy has specified only that integrated (modular) construction must take place," says Shrawat.

Dutch company, Royal Haskoning, has functioned as prime consultant for the MMP, which has taken five years. Haskoning has prepared the design, organised site surveys and geotechnical investigations and is now supervising construction. Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Construction has done the civil works, including the 8000 square metre workshop with a retractable roof.

A key construction challenge has been the Goliath crane, a Rs 89 crore, 2200-tonne structure that traverses on rails and extends 138 metres across the yard. Designed by Konecrane of Finland, the Goliath crane was physically erected by Fagioli of Italy. Kolkata-based company, McNally Bharat, was the Indian contractor.

Most pleasing to MDL officials is the third element of the MMP: a new wet basin that offers 25,000 square metres of berthing space for under-construction warships. MDL has long functioned with just the 14,000 square metre Kasara Wet Basin, which was built in 1774 to service warships of the East India Company. But, with three projects simultaneously ongoing, MDL had to berth under-construction warships at the Naval Dockyard, several kilometres away, transporting labour, stores and machinery to the naval facility everyday.

From next month, the wet basin and the Goliath crane will start functioning. The rest of the workshop is scheduled to be inaugurated in June 2013.



Broadsword: New yards, techniques, to speed up warship building
 

john70

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Indian navy ships to be build faster : New shipyards and techniques

Broadsword: New yards, techniques, to speed up warship building


A humming construction site in Mumbai's Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) holds the promise of a new era in warship building in India. Everything about this emerging new shipyard is enormous:
the 200-metre-long workshop;
a Goliath crane that dwarfs everything around;
and an expansive "wet basin", which is an enclosed harbour that will comfortably house two large warships.

This is good news : A definite change trend is seen - lets hope for best.



The belly of a Kolkata class destroyer at Mazagon Dock Ltd,

This is new concept : "modular" shipyard, that's the way to go. Waiting for June 13 for new ship yard to be commissioned.

This is MDL's new Rs 826 crore "modular" shipyard that is expected to slash down the time taken to build warships for the Indian Navy. Defence shipyards currently take over ten years to build major warships like destroyers, frigates and corvettes. When the new yard is commissioned in June 2013, frigates will be built in 60 months; destroyers will take 72 months.
The change in concept will be like this :

To achieve this, MDL --- along with the other big defence shipyard, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Kolkata (GRSE) --- is abandoning traditional shipbuilding. That involves welding a hull together and launching it into water, after which swarms of craftsmen painstakingly work in the warship's cramped compartments, installing propulsion gear, electrically equipment, weapons, sensors and hundreds of kilometres of pipes and wiring. This is a slow process.

Instead, construction will now be like a giant Lego game: convenient 300-ton blocks will be built separately, and then assembled together into a complete warship. Each block will be fabricated in a well-lit, ventilated workshop with multi-level access, and will be complete with all the piping, electrical wiring and fitments that run through a ship. Each block must dovetail precisely with its neighbouring block, every wire, pipe and compartment coming together in perfect alignment.
The new Goliath crane with 300 ton capacity will make the difference

PK Bhattacharjee, General Manager of the Mazagon Modernisation Project (MMP), who is conducting Business Standard through an exclusive, pre-inauguration tour of the shipyard, explains what happens next.

After a block is completed in the worker-friendly environment of the modular workshop, the workshop's roof is retracted and the rail-mounted Goliath crane reaches in and lifts out the 300-tonne block. It then transports it to the slipway where it takes its place in the warship that is taking shape.

After about 20 blocks come together, the 3000-tonne semi-built warship is launched into the water and towed to the "wet basin", where the superstructure, and weapons and sensors are put in.

"The capability to lift 300 tonnes is what makes modular shipbuilding possible.

For decades, we have worked with 40-tonne cranes," explains Battacharjee.

Fincantieri, an Italian shipbuilder, will provide consultancy

Back in MDL's corporate office the new chairman, Rear Admiral (Retired) Rahul Kumar Shrawat, explains that the technological challenge of modular shipbuilding lies in designing each 300-tonne block so that it is fully kitted and fits exactly into the next. Since this process is new to India, Fincantieri, an Italian shipbuilder, will provide consultancy for the new design process.
The crane :

A key construction challenge has been the Goliath crane, a Rs 89 crore, 2200-tonne structure that traverses on rails and extends 138 metres across the yard. Designed by Konecrane of Finland, the Goliath crane was physically erected by Fagioli of Italy. Kolkata-based company, McNally Bharat, was the Indian contractor.

A new wet basin

Most pleasing to MDL officials is the third element of the MMP: a new wet basin that offers 25,000 square metres of berthing space for under-construction warships. MDL has long functioned with just the 14,000 square metre Kasara Wet Basin, which was built in 1774 to service warships of the East India Company. But, with three projects simultaneously ongoing, MDL had to berth under-construction warships at the Naval Dockyard, several kilometres away, transporting labour, stores and machinery to the naval facility everyday.
The time line to start :

From next month, the wet basin and the Goliath crane will start functioning. The rest of the workshop is scheduled to be inaugurated in June 2013.
 

Sameer Guduru

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New yards, techniques, to speed up warship building

By Ajai Shukla

A humming construction site in Mumbai's Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) holds the promise of a new era in warship building in India. Everything about this emerging new shipyard is enormous: the 200-metre-long workshop; a Goliath crane that dwarfs everything around; and an expansive "wet basin", which is an enclosed harbour that will comfortably house two large warships.

This is MDL's new Rs 826 crore "modular" shipyard that is expected to slash down the time taken to build warships for the Indian Navy. Defence shipyards currently take over ten years to build major warships like destroyers, frigates and corvettes. When the new yard is commissioned in June 2013, frigates will be built in 60 months; destroyers will take 72 months.

Building warships faster is crucial for the navy. Its Maritime Capability Perspective Plan (MCPP) of 2005 envisions a 160-ship navy, with 90 capital warships like aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and corvettes. Today, however, the navy has just 134 ships, with less than half the destroyers and frigates it needs. Bridging this gap of 26 ships, while also replacing warships that are being decommissioned after completing their 30-40 year service lives, requires a major boost in indigenous build capability.

To achieve this, MDL --- along with the other big defence shipyard, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Kolkata (GRSE) --- is abandoning traditional shipbuilding. That involves welding a hull together and launching it into water, after which swarms of craftsmen painstakingly work in the warship's cramped compartments, installing propulsion gear, electrically equipment, weapons, sensors and hundreds of kilometres of pipes and wiring. This is a slow process.

Instead, construction will now be like a giant Lego game: convenient 300-ton blocks will be built separately, and then assembled together into a complete warship. Each block will be fabricated in a well-lit, ventilated workshop with multi-level access, and will be complete with all the piping, electrical wiring and fitments that run through a ship. Each block must dovetail precisely with its neighbouring block, every wire, pipe and compartment coming together in perfect alignment.

PK Bhattacharjee, General Manager of the Mazagon Modernisation Project (MMP), who is conducting Business Standard through an exclusive, pre-inauguration tour of the shipyard, explains what happens next. After a block is completed in the worker-friendly environment of the modular workshop, the workshop's roof is retracted and the rail-mounted Goliath crane reaches in and lifts out the 300-tonne block. It then transports it to the slipway where it takes its place in the warship that is taking shape. After about 20 blocks come together, the 3000-tonne semi-built warship is launched into the water and towed to the "wet basin", where the superstructure, and weapons and sensors are put in.

"The capability to lift 300 tonnes is what makes modular shipbuilding possible. For decades, we have worked with 40-tonne cranes," explains Battacharjee.

The first warships that will emerge from this process are 7 frigates of Project 17A. MDL will build four frigates, while GRSE will build three. The Project 17A frigates will be outwardly similar to their predecessors, the three Shivalik-class frigates of Project 17, which MDL has just completed. But modular shipbuilding is expected to ensure that Project 17A is completed must faster.

Back in MDL's corporate office the new chairman, Rear Admiral (Retired) Rahul Kumar Shrawat, explains that the technological challenge of modular shipbuilding lies in designing each 300-tonne block so that it is fully kitted and fits exactly into the next. Since this process is new to India, Fincantieri, an Italian shipbuilder, will provide consultancy for the new design process.

"MDL's board, in coordination with our partner shipyard, GRSE, will decide on the design consultancy for Project 17A. It will be a shipyard's decision. The navy has specified only that integrated (modular) construction must take place," says Shrawat.

Dutch company, Royal Haskoning, has functioned as prime consultant for the MMP, which has taken five years. Haskoning has prepared the design, organised site surveys and geotechnical investigations and is now supervising construction. Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Construction has done the civil works, including the 8000 square metre workshop with a retractable roof.

A key construction challenge has been the Goliath crane, a Rs 89 crore, 2200-tonne structure that traverses on rails and extends 138 metres across the yard. Designed by Konecrane of Finland, the Goliath crane was physically erected by Fagioli of Italy. Kolkata-based company, McNally Bharat, was the Indian contractor.

Most pleasing to MDL officials is the third element of the MMP: a new wet basin that offers 25,000 square metres of berthing space for under-construction warships. MDL has long functioned with just the 14,000 square metre Kasara Wet Basin, which was built in 1774 to service warships of the East India Company. But, with three projects simultaneously ongoing, MDL had to berth under-construction warships at the Naval Dockyard, several kilometres away, transporting labour, stores and machinery to the naval facility everyday.

From next month, the wet basin and the Goliath crane will start functioning. The rest of the workshop is scheduled to be inaugurated in June 2013.



Broadsword: New yards, techniques, to speed up warship building
Hi, Where can I get hold of the MCPP 2012-27. Your help and leads will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 

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