Article Posted on : - May 09, 2025

Indian Navy personnel and officials of GRSE, Kolkata, during the handover ceremony of 'Arnala', the first of eight ASW SWCs (Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft), built by GRSE, in Kattupalli, Tamil Nadu on May 8, 2025. (Photo: PIB/ PTI)

KOLKATA (PTI): Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd said it has delivered the first of eight anti-submarine warfare (ASW) shallow water crafts to the Indian Navy on Thursday.

The ASW shallow water crafts will add punch to the Indian Navy's capability to patrol coastal areas where enemy submarines could be lurking.

'INS Arnala', the first of the eight ASW shallow water crafts being constructed by the Kolkata-based warship-maker for the Indian Navy, was delivered on Thursday.

The 77.6-metre-long and 10.5-metre-wide ASW SWCs are capable of full-scale sub-surface surveillance of coastal waters as well as search and attack, GRSE said in a statement.

"These can also carry out coordinated anti-submarine operations with aircraft," the official said.

The ship was constructed through the PPP model with GRSE collaborating with private shipyard L&T Kattupalli in Tamil Nadu, the PSU said in a statement.

GRSE was awarded the Raksha Mantri's Award in 2022 for designing the Arnala, described as the ‘most silent ship’.

The ship, named after an island with a historic fort off the Maharashtra Coast, has nearly 88 per cent indigenous content, the statement said.

GRSE is now building 16 more warships, including three P17A advanced stealth frigates, seven ASW SWCs, two survey vessels and four next generation offshore patrol vessels.