Feature 6 | SMALL NAVAL/PARAMILITARY CRAFT
built by ABG for the ICG. Tese 90tonne aluminium-hulled craſt have a length of about 30m, a beam of 6.6m, and draught of 1.27m. Tey are powered by two MTU 16V 4000M90 engines driving Kamewa 72S II waterjets for a top speed of 45knots. Range is 500nm at an economical speed of 25knots. Designed for inshore and shallow water operations, they feature a Furuno FEA 2107 ECDIS and a Furuno FAR 2117 radar. Tey have a heavy machinegun and light machineguns. Bharati Shipyard is building some 15 (and
possibly as many as 20) 26m interceptor boats to a Marine Technology Development (MTD) design. Tese will be powered by two MTU 16V 2000 M92 with the Blueline automation system driving surface drives for a top speed of 35knots. Deliveries are likely to commence later this year. In early 2010, Larsen and Toubro was
awarded the largest order, for 36 26m-long interceptor craft
(IC). These 90tonne
aluminium-alloy-hulled ICs have a length of 25.8m, beam of 6.4m and a draught of 1.3m. They are powered by two MJP waterjets driven by two Caterpillar Cat 3516C engines through two ZF 7650 RR 1.545 gearboxes for a top speed in excess of 45knots. Tey have a MARIS ECDIS and a Humphree-supplied automatic trim optimisation system. Te first boat was due to be delivered by the end of 2011, and all deliveries should be completed by 2014. Apart from these craſt, Timblo Dry Docks has completed a contract for ten 9.8m rigid-hull interceptor boats with a partially enclosed cabin and ballistic protection to NIJ 111 standards. Powered by twin 250 Mercury outboards, they have a fully laden maximum speed of 37knots, which is comfortably in excess of the contractual requirement of 32knots. Timblo is also building 30 13m patrol/workboats to be delivered through 2013. These are powered by two 500hp engines for a top speed of 35knots. Te Indian Navy has created a special
naval unit – the Sagar Prahari Bal (SPB) – meaning sea guard force – for force protection, security of naval bases and to provide seaward protection to vital assets and installations along coastal areas. Te SPB would ultimately number some 1000 personnel, equipped with 95 Fast Interceptor Craſt (FIC). Getting off to a slow start, the SPB is thought to have commenced operations by mid-2010 with chartered boats. According to the Indian Ministry of Defence, by July 2011
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the SPB had operational units in all of the naval commands. After issuing a worldwide tender for
the FIC, as an interim measure, the Indian Navy ordered 15 Plascoa 1300 FICs (with an option for seven more), from French boatbuilder, Chantier Naval Couach. Couach launched the first FIC at its Larros Gujan-Mestras yard in January 2011 and completed delivery of the first batch of three boats in late March (although the boats did not arrive in Mumbai until early June). A second batch has also been delivered. It is expected that the 15-boat order will be executed by mid-2012. The Plascoa 1300 FIC are constructed
from Aramat (a fibreglass, Kevlar and carbon composite material) for a light but sturdy platform. Displacing 12tonnes, they have a length of 13m, a beam of 3.8m and draught of 0.9m. Propulsion is by two Arneson surface drives powered by two MAN R6-800 diesels each rated at 800hp. Teir top speed is in excess of 50knots and range is 200nm at 20knots with a crew of five. They are fitted with Furuno navigation radar atop the pilothouse and are armed with a 12.7mm heavy machinegun on the forepeak and two 7.62mm light machineguns amidships. Te Ministry of Defence also reported
that a Contract Negotiation Committee (CNC) report for procurement of the 80 FICs has been finalised. While Couach hoped to get this order, it has emerged that Solas Marine Lanka, a small boat builder from Sri Lanka, is the preferred supplier. Te first four Solas Marine built FIC were due to be delivered by the end of 2011. Te Ministry of Defence says that four FIC will be delivered every three months, although other reports suggest that the entire order will be executed over 36 months with deliveries taking place in batches of 15 boats. No other details are available. Larger, 50m patrol vessels form the next
ring of the new patrol assets, and the Indian Coast Guard has several 50m class waterjet- powered patrol craſt – both inshore patrol vessels (IPV) and fast patrol vessel (FPV) – on order. Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL) is building
five 51.15m, 275tonne IPVs to a Tornycroſt design. Tis programme has, however, been slow to deliver as the first-of-class (and possibly the second) are seriously overweight – to the tune of 80tonnes. Tey are being re-powered with more powerful waterjets to
attain the required design speed. In spite of the poor track record with the Tornycroſt 50m IPV programme, HSL, being owned by the Ministry of Defence, has received another order for eight IPVs to a MTD design. GRSE’s eight-ship 52m IPV programme,
based on its own WJFAC design, has been delayed by three months because of reworks associated with defective wajerjet inlets but deliveries were due to start from late 2011 or early 2012. Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) is building 20 48m waterjet-powered FPVs fitted with a trio of MTU 16V 4000 M90 engines controlled by the Callosum ship automation system. Te vessels have ZF 7600 gearboxes and a top seed of 35knots. Deliveries were due to start within 20 months of the order, which was placed in October 2010. For long-range patrol, a number of OPVs
are under construction or on order for the Coast Guard and the Navy. Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) is outfitting the last of three 90m OPVs for the Coast Guard, which has also placed an order for six 105m OPVs with GSL. Deliveries of the 105m OPVs are at least three years away – possibly commencing in the 2014 timeframe. Bharati Shipyard was the lowest bidder for
a seven-ship, 2000tonne OPV tender from the Coast Guard but this project is being retendered aſter protests from a state-owned yard, thought to be GSL. It remains to be seen who ends up with this order. Te Indian Navy is also due to receive at
least nine large OPVs in the near future. GSL is outfitting four 105m, 2300tonne OPVs that are armed with an Oto Melara 76mm Super Rapid gun, two AK-630M Gatling guns and the Sanket Mk 2 electronic warfare system. Deliveries are to commence in 2012. Earlier this year, the Indian Navy awarded
Pipavav Shipyard a contract for five large OPVs to be built to a design from Severnoye Design Bureau in Russia. It is reported that these OPVs will feature similar combat systems to the GSL built ships. Significantly, this is the first order for a naval warship, hitherto the preserve of state-owned shipyards, to be given to a private shipyard. Going
forward, it is likely that
contracts for more advanced warships will be awarded to private shipyards as government owned yards begin to experience serious capacity and delivery issues in the face of having to execute so many orders in a timely manner. WT
Warship Technology January 2012
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