On March 18, 2021, Indian Naval Landing Craft Utility (LCU) ‘L58’, the 8th and last ship of the LCU Mark IV Class was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The L58 (amphibious ship) has been indigenously designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
- LCU 58 will be based at Port Blair and will be under the command of Andaman & Nicobar Command (which is the sole Joint Services Command of India).
- Purpose – For transporting & deploying Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), armoured vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore.
- Commander Krishan K Yadav was appointed as the First Commanding Officer of the Ship.
- The Commissioning of ships is a significant achievement under the ‘Make in India’ & ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ Programme in the areas of warship design & construction.
Fact
- LCU L-58 is the 106th Warship built & delivered by GRSE, which is the highest number of warships delivered by any Indian Shipyard.
Features
- It will be manned by a team of 5 officers & 50 sailors. It is also capable of carrying 160 troops in addition to its crew.
- It has a displacement of 900 tons and can travel at speeds of up to 15 Knots (28 Kmph).
- 90% of the ship’s components are manufactured indigenously.
- LCU L-58 is 63 metre long, 11 metre wide & has a displacement of 830 Ton with a low draught of 1.7 metre.
Roles
- It is capable of carrying various types of combat vehicles like Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), BMP (Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty) Army Battle Tanks, Armoured Vehicles, Trucks.
- Will be deployed for performing a variety of roles like Beaching, Search and Rescue, Disaster Relief, Coastal Patrol & Surveillance operations along the Andaman and Nicobar Group of Islands, Bay of Bengal and in the Indian Ocean.
IBS & IPMS Fittings
- It is fitted with an advanced Electronic Support Measure (ESM) suite for intercepting enemy radar transmissions.
- Fitted with an Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and an Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) for monitoring the Ship’s navigational & machinery equipment.
Main Armaments
- The main armament of the ship is 2 indigenously manufactured 30 mm CRN 91 guns which are controlled by a Stabilized Optronic Pedestal (SOP), which is manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
- It is also equipped with 6 Machine Gun Posts for neutralizing air, surface & sub-conventional threats.
Recent Related News:
i.On December 31, 2020, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata, West Bengal delivered the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) MK IV class vessel ‘IN LCU L-58’ (Yard 2099) to the Indian Navy (IN).
About Indian Navy:
Chief of Naval Staff (CNS)– Admiral Karambir Singh
Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Navy)– New Delhi
About Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd(GRSE):
Chairman & Managing Director(MD) – Vipin Kumar Saxena
Headquarter – Kolkata, West Bengal
