Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Limited has entered into a teaming agreement with Bengaluru-based Merlinhawk Aerospace Pvt Ltd to jointly design, develop, and manufacture composite doors and hatches for Indian Navy warships being built at GRSE’s Kolkata facility.
GRSE is currently executing three warship building projects for Indian Navy and one for the Indian Coast Guard worth approximately Rs 25,000 crore including a Prestigious P17A Project for three Advanced Frigates and two projects won on competitive.
GRSE-Merlinhawk deal: Why this collaboration matter?
The agreement establishes a framework for collaborative design, testing, manufacturing, and integration of advanced composite structures on naval ships. The composite doors and hatches, along with their locking mechanisms, are set to gradually replace traditional steel counterparts, making vessels lighter, more durable, and better aligned with the Navy’s modernisation drive.
According to GRSE officials, the initiative directly contributes to increasing indigenous content in warship construction under the Atmanirbhar Bharat programme.
How this deal supports India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative?
By replacing imported or conventional components with locally developed alternatives, the collaboration is expected to strengthen India’s defence industrial base and reduce long-term dependency on foreign suppliers.
This partnership further underscores the growing role of private sector aerospace and defence firms in contributing to India’s naval shipbuilding capabilities. It also highlights the Navy’s continued focus on integrating advanced materials and technologies in line with the country’s strategic vision of achieving self-reliance in defence manufacturing.
How big is India’s shipbuilding industry?
The shipbuilding industry is a strategically important industry as it has the same impact as infrastructure sectors due to higher multiplier effects on investment and turnover and high employment potential. There are 42 dry-docks for repairing ships in India both in public and private sector while 8 Public Sector Ship building and ship repairing companies presently function.
Cochin Shipyard possess the maximum ship building capacity (110 thousand DWT) followed by Hindustan Shipyard (80 thousand DWT), Shoft Shipyard and Patra Shpping (10 thousand DWT) each, at the end of year 2022-23.
The companies had an order book of 410 ships with gross DWT 601.08 thousand tonnes. During the period the public sector companies had orders of 168 ships of 293.84 thousand DWT.