Indian Navy commissions Samarthak, its first warship built by a private shipyard

Key facts

• The Indian Navy commissioned the multi-purpose vessel Samarthak, the first major warship contracted to and built by a private shipyard, at its base in Karwar.
• Samarthak was built by Larsen and Toubro (L&T) at its Kattupalli shipyard in Tamil Nadu and has more than 75 per cent indigenous content.
• Samarthak is the first of four multi-purpose vessels being inducted into the Indian Navy.
• The vessel was designed, engineered and built entirely in-house at L&T's Warship Design Centre and shipyard, which the Navy chief called a significant step towards Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance).
• Samarthak's roles include trials of indigenous weapons and sensors, operations with unmanned autonomous systems, maritime surveillance and patrol duties, and launching and recovering targets used in warship exercises at sea.
• The ship is equipped with a dynamic positioning system, heavy-towing facilities, medical infrastructure and firefighting capabilities, and can support humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and non-combatant evacuation missions.
• The commissioning ceremony was attended by Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan, and Navy Chief Admiral Krishna Swaminathan said the vessel would reinforce India's role as a first responder and preferred security partner in the region.