India’s HSL to Build $2B Vessels with Tech Transfer from Turkey

India’s Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) could build five fleet support ships (FSSs) with technology transfer from Turkey’s Anadolu Shipyard, part of TAIS consortium.

The project is expected to cost between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. TAIS announced back in June 2019 that it won the Indian Navy’s $2.3 billion (TL 16 billion) tender to build five 45,000-ton FSSs.

Visakhapatnam-based HSL is expecting an order from the Navy by year-end for the building of the vessels.

“The agreement with the Turkish consortium will kick in after HSL gets an order from the Indian Navy. If all goes well, that could happen by October 2021. Several Indian vendors will also be involved in the project,” sources familiar with the developments told Hindustan Times.

The HSL earlier proposed to build the fleet support ships by partnering with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI). The plan was dropped over cost disputes.

The 230-meter (755-foot) ships with a displacement of 45,000 tons can carry fuel and other supplies for warships.

First of these vessels will be delivered to the Navy within four years of the go-ahead. The rest is set to be delivered at 10- to 12-month intervals.

According to photos shared by the TAIS group, the tankers could be similar in design to the Pakistan Navy fleet tanker PNS Moawin, which was built by Pakistan’s Karachi Shipyard under a design provided by Turkey’s STM. A significant difference between Indian and Pakistani tankers is the size as PNS Moawin displaces 16,400 tons, compared to the 45,000 tons displaced by Indian FSS.