The launch of guided-missile destroyer Mormugao, the second Project 15B vessel, took place at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), on Saturday. With a launch weight of 2,844 tonnes, the ship made its first contact with water at 11.58 am amid fanfare.
Addressing the staff of MDL on the occasion, Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of Naval Staff, said MDL would build four destroyers, which are likely to be completed by 2022. MDL has prepared three Delhi-class destroyers and three Kolkata-class destroyers under Project 15 and Project 15A respectively, and Mormugao is its second Visakhapatnam-class destroyer.
In accordance with Navy traditions, Mr Lanba’s wife, Reena Lanba, president, Navy Wives Welfare Association (NWWA), broke a coconut on the ship’s bow before launching it. Mr Lanba said Mormugao is 68 per cent indigenous. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel-based firm Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) designed the weapons and sensors for the ship.
Mr Lanba said that generally such ships takes 10 to 12 years to be manufactured, and Mormugao had touched the water before her deadline.
Rear Admiral R.K. Shrawat, chief of MDL, Western Naval Command head Vice-Admiral Girish Luthra and mayor Snehal Ambekar were also present on the occasion. Mr Shrawat said that the Project 15A ship Chennai would be commissioned in the next few months, and MDL would make 17A Project ships, which would be delivered after 2022, while the Scorpene-class submarine Kalvari would also be commissioned this year.
