Kolkata/Kochi, Oct 29 (IANS): Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd signed a contract with the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) on Tuesday for the construction of an Acoustic Research Ship (ARS).

NPOL is a laboratory under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and GRSE is upbeat with the signing of the contract as officials believe that it underscores the shipyard's capability to build state-of-the-art specialised vessels required for research, apart from advanced warships.

The contract was signed in Kochi by Cdr Shantanu Bose, IN (Retd), Director (Shipbuilding), GRSE, and Sijo N Lukose, Sc-G, Group Director (Material Management), NPOL, in the presence of senior officials from both organisations.

According to an official, the value of the contract is Rs 490.98 crore. The overall length of the ARS will be 90 metres and it will be 14 metres wide. It will be capable of speeds ranging from 4 knots to 12 knots.

At top speed, the ship will have an endurance of 30 days or 4,500 nautical miles in a single mission. It will have a complement of 70 personnel.

The capabilities of the ARS will include deployment, towing and retrieval of various equipment such as acoustic modules, carrying out temporal and/or spatial high-resolution surveys of sound velocity profiles and collection of ocean tides/current information to be used for survey optimisation, design of underwater moorings and offshore deployments.

"The research vessel will also carry out meteorological surveys to understand the influence of atmospheric parameters in sound propagation studies and undertake shallow water acoustic reverberation studies. It will also be capable of launching, mooring and maintaining standalone buoys and collecting data from them. Its wide speed range will allow the ship to operate at multiple speed regimes to carry out acoustic systems trials while maintaining silence," the official said.

The ARS will also have a dynamic positioning system that will allow it to maintain position in intact condition up to Sea State 4. The vessel will have diesel-electric propulsion and three (3) deck cranes will be fitted on board to handle research equipment.

GRSE has immense experience in the construction of research and survey vessels. Over the last year, the shipyard delivered two Survey Vessels (Large) to the Indian Navy and is in the process of building two more. These are the largest survey vessels of their class to be built in India.

On July 16, 2024, GRSE signed a contract with the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, for the construction of an advanced Ocean Research Vessel (ORV).

The official said that apart from the ORV for NCPOR, GRSE is currently building 17 warships for the Indian Navy. It is also building several specialised multi-purpose vessels for German companies, and hybrid ferries for the Government of West Bengal among other projects.