Reliance defence to build 14 patrol ships for Coast Guard, fetches Rs 916 cr contract from govt

Reliance Defence and Engineering Ltd (RDEL) has signed Rs 916 crore contract with Defence Ministry for design and construction of 14 fast patrol vessels for Indian Coast Guard.

RDEL is a wholly-owned arm of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (RInfra).

RDEL emerged winner through a competitive bidding process undertaken by Ministry of Defence with participation from almost all the private sector and public sector shipyards namely, L&T, Cochin Shipyard Ltd, Goa Shipyard Ltd, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), the company said in a statement.

This is the first time a private sector shipyard has been awarded a contract to design and build such class of ships for Indian Armed Forces. RDEL will be developing the design in-house, it said.

Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) are medium range, high speed vessels; they are primarily utilised for patrol within Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), coastal patrol, anti-smuggling, anti-piracy, search and rescue operations. They also support front line warships in the hour of need.

Reliance Shipyard, with the largest dry-dock of the country, has successfully mastered the block-construction technique through unique ‘modular construction technology’ for building large ships for both commercial usage and Navy, the statement said.

The shipyard, with state-of-the-art technology, processes and skilled manpower, is well poised to deliver any class of vessel in a most optimum time-frame.