Warship Kesari commissioned by Indian Navy

Kolkata, Apr 05 (UNI) Indian Navy commissioned warship 'Kesari', made by Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers(GRSE) from the Naval Base at Visakhapatnam today.

An official statement here said the follow-on ship that was handed over to the Indian Navy on February 21, was today commissioned by Andhra Pradesh Governor Narayan Dutt Tiwari.

"Kesari" is aimed at contributing to the defence preparedness of the country.

The statement said the earlier ships of the class INS Gar, INS Gharial and INS Shardul had successfully been delivered to the Indian Navy by GRSE in the past. The basic design of the ship was evolved by the Directorate of Naval Design at Integrated Headquarters of MoD (Navy), New Delhi. Design modifications of the ship have been carried out by GRSE. The Project is managed by the Directorate of Ship Production at IHQ MoD (Navy).

The new ship will be an important amphibious warfare ship, carrying Landing Craft Assault, battle tanks, army vehicles and troops. The new ship has been upgraded in terms of better performance, maintainability, enhanced air-conditioned accommodation for troops and additional inner Bow Door as per latest classification rules.

The ship is also provided with helicopter staging facilities for SEAKING MK 42C helicopter or indigenously built Dhruv helicopter.

Kesari is also fitted with modern electronic equipment with two WM 18 Rocket Launcher mountings and CRN 91 Guns.

The ship's dimensions are 124.8 meters in length, 17.5 meters in breadth and displacement of 5600 tonnes. The ship can carry 12 main battle tanks, 10 Army vehicles and 500 troops for amphibious operations and is capable of achieving a speed of 15.8 knots.

The occasion was graced by senior officers from the services and other distinguished guests.

UNI LL PL DB1619