New Delhi: Defence Ministry’s Hindustan Shipyard Limited is carrying out the design and development of the five fleet support ships indigenously and has terminated all arrangements with Turkish firms for the program.

The steel-cutting ceremony of the first of the five Fleet Support Ships was held on Wednesday, April 10, in Visakhapatnam in the presence of Defence Secretary Giridhar Armane. The contract was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year with a value of around ₹22,000 crore for building five large-sized naval vessels.

“The HSL had entered into an arraignment with a Turkish firm for design consultancy but that was cancelled before the contract was cleared by the CCS,” defence officials told ANI.

The elimination of the Turkish firm from the project is the backdrop of several instances where Turkey has been taking anti-India positions, especially on the issue of Kashmir at the global forums.

HSL is now carrying out the design work for the ships on its own and is taking the assistance of a Kochi-based firm for design consultancy.

The officials said the Kochi-based firm has also worked with other government shipyards, like Cochin Shipyard Limited, on ship projects.

A contract with HSL for the acquisition of five Fleet Support Ships was signed in August 2023 and the ships are scheduled to be delivered to the Indian Navy starting from mid-2027.

On induction, the Fleet Support Ships will bolster the ‘Blue Water’ capabilities of the Indian Navy through replenishment of fleet ships at sea. The ships, with more than 40,000-ton displacement, will carry and deliver fuel, water, ammunition and stores, enabling prolonged operations without returning to the harbour, thus enhancing the Fleet’s strategic reach and mobility. In a secondary role, these ships would be equipped for humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations for the evacuation of personnel in emergencies and the quick delivery of relief material at the site during natural calamities.

With a completely indigenous design and sourcing of the majority of the equipment from indigenous manufacturers, this shipbuilding project will boost the Indian shipbuilding industry and is in consonance with the GoI initiatives of Atmanirbhar Bharat, and “Make in India, Make for the World.”