Makar-class survey catamaran

The Makar-class survey catamarans are a series of six 500 ton steel hull/aluminium superstructure Hydrographic Survey Catamarans being built by Alcock Ashdown (Gujarat) Ltd at its Bhavnagar shipyard for the Indian Navy. The ships are designed by an Australian naval architecture firm Sea Transport Solutions, which is based on Queensland's Gold Coast. The deal was canceled due to the extensive delays as the Navy was not satisfied with the timeline[6] and a fresh award for construction of another class of survey vessels to the GRSE has also been undertaken.[7]

INS Makar
Class overview
NameMakar-class survey catamaran
BuildersAlcock Ashdown Gujarat Ltd[1]
Operators Indian Navy
Preceded bySandhayak class
Succeeded byGRSE class
Cost₹800 crore (US$100 million)[2]
Planned6
Completed1
Cancelled5
Active1
General characteristics
TypeCatamaran
Displacement500 tons[3]
Length53.15 m (174.4 ft)[3]
Beam16.0 m (52.5 ft)[3]
Draught2.2 m (7.2 ft)
Depth4.5 m (15 ft)[3]
Installed power4 × 1,007 kW Cummins KTA 38M2
PropulsionTwo bow thrusters[1]
Speed
  • Cruising speed: 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
  • Maximum speed: 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)[4]
Range3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at economic cruising
Boats & landing
craft carried		Carries two motor boats, also carries Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs)[1]
Complement6 officers and 44 sailors,[5] and 6 scientists[4]
Sensors and
processing systems		Advanced Electronic Positioning System, Multi-beam Swath Sounding Systems and Sub-Bottom Profiler. Equipped with modern oceanographic and land survey equipment.[1]

Description

The ships are intended to undertake coastal hydrographic survey, required for production of nautical charts and publications aimed at improving navigation through waters closer to coasts. The ships are also capable of limited coastal defence role in an emergency, limited search and rescue and limited ocean research. The ships are equipped with standard hydrographic survey equipment such as advanced electronic positioning system, multi-beam swath sounding systems and sub-bottom profiler. The ships also carry two survey motor boats along with Kongsberg Maritime's Hugin 1000 Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for closer investigations.[1]

The catamarans are propelled by four Cummins engines as well as two bow thrusters. The entire propulsion, navigational and power management packages of the vessels are integrated in a L&T supplied single state-of-art integrated platform management system. The ship is also equipped with sophisticated Integrated Bridge System from L&T. The ships have ergonomic accommodation for the six officers and 44 sailors.[1]

Construction

Alcock Ashdown (Gujarat) Ltd was awarded this contract, worth ₹800 crore (US$100 million)[2] on 28 December 2006 through open competitive bidding, beating others like Larsen & Toubro, ABG Shipyard and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers. As per original term of contract, the first vessel was to be delivered by 6 April 2009, while the remaining five vessels were to be delivered within a year from 6 July 2009. This was later rescheduled, the revised delivery period of vessels is from September 2011 to March 2013. The INS Meen is under construction. The remaining four are awaiting administrative clarification.[8]

Ships of the class
Name Pennant Laid down Launched Sea trials Commissioning Homeport Notes
INS Makar J 31 2008 February 2010 21 September 2012 Karwar [9]

Cancellation of the deal

Indian Navy cancelled ₹8000 crore (US$1.1 billion) deal with Alcock Ashdown over 10 year delays in a contract to supply of the six vessels. According to Navy officials only one of the vessels has been delivered and there is no sign or any timeline for the other 5 ships.[6]

Further, the Ministry of Defence has awarded another contract for the construction of four Survey Vessels for Indian Navy to Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) Limited, Kolkata after it became the L1 bidder in the competitive bidding.[7][10] These ships have a displacement of 3,300 tonnes. Therefore, these ships are likely to be more advanced and outperform the Makar Class which has a displacement of only 500 tonnes. So, this further reduces the chances of the completion of the deal and hence the Makar class will consist of only 1 ship.

See also

References
  1. "Indigenously Built INS Makar Commissioned into Indian Navy". Indian Navy. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  2. "Gujarat builds 1st survey catamarans for Indian navy". DNA India. 3 March 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  3. "Vessels Under Execution - Survey Vessel, Indian Navy". Alcock Shipyard. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  4. "Alcock Ashdown Gujarat Ltd develops first Survey Catamarans for Indian navy". Gujarat Money. 4 March 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  5. "Indigenously Built INS Makar Commissioned into Indian Navy". Indian Navy. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  6. "Indian Navy Likely To Cancel $1.1 billion Makar-Class Vessels Deal Over Delay Issues". www.defenseworld.net. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  7. "GRSE to build four survey vehicles for Indian Navy, contract inked". The Economic Times. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  8. "BC Shipping News – Magazine". 6 June 2021.
  9. "Hydrographic survey vessel commissioned". The Hindu. 22 September 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  10. "MOD signs contract with GRSE for supply of four survey vessels for Indian Navy". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
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