- 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