To maintain the lethal edge of its combat assets, top officers of the Indian Navy gathered at the Headquarters Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam, to review progress towards modernisation and augmentation of repair and refitting infrastructure. At the meeting chaired by Vice Admiral GS Pabby, Chief of Materiel (COM), Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy), all the stakeholders representing the Naval Headquarters, three Naval Commands, and the Tri-Services Andaman & Nicobar Command at Port Blair, Dockyards, Repair Yards and Material Organisations of the Navy are attending.
The two day Indian Navy’s Annual Refit Conference (ARC) and Annual Infrastructure Conference (AIC), according to officials the focus is on the refit plans for all ships and submarines of the Indian Navy. And also to put together plans for the expansion of the infrastructure which would help in meeting the growing needs of the Indian Navy.
In his inaugural address, Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, ENC, talked about the efforts being put in ensuring combat availability of Naval platforms and also the role of the Naval Repair Yards towards the sustained operation of platforms at sea.
Vice Admiral Pabby in his address urged all concerned to focus on greater indigenisation in keeping with the spirit of the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
All technical and logistics aspects concerning refits were discussed at length and the emphasis was on the enhanced efficiency/ capability of sea-going units.
Hindustan Shipyard Ltd Refit achievement
Achieved a historical milestone in submarine Repair capability recently when it completed extensive repairs, upgrades, system integration and trials of INS Sindhuvir.
According to Rear Admiral LV Sarat Babu(Retd), Chairman and Managing Director, HSL, “This was ahead of the contractual delivery period. And this is the second such feat by the Shipyard, which had earlier completed the refit of INS Astradharni 14 days ahead of schedule.”
He credited the timely completion of refit to the active involvement of Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam and support of Eastern Naval Command. And also a strong vendor base of about 70 MSMEs who were involved in the refit and cumulatively generating sizeable local revenue, employment and enhancement of skill.
Babu also said that this achievement has put HSL on a strong pedestal for undertaking future submarine projects like P75I construction, MRLC of Sindhugosh and other submarine refits by harnessing the potential of Indian companies thus fostering “Make in India” intent.