The NGOPV Shreyas launch at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata on Saturday put one more indigenously designed and built patrol ship in the water for the Indian Navy, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Mrs Reyman Kochhar launched the vessel, Yard 3040, in the presence of Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.

Senior officers of the Navy, officials of the Ministry of Defence and representatives of GRSE and its industry partners attended the ceremony, which was held in keeping with naval tradition. The hull was dressed in flowers and the national colours for the occasion.

Shreyas takes its name from the Sanskrit word for best

Ships of this class draw their names from India's heritage. Shreyas means best, or most excellent, in Sanskrit, the ministry said.

Her sister at GRSE is Shruti.

NGOPV Shreyas launch adds to the Navy's offshore patrol force

The Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels will augment the Navy's existing offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) and naval offshore patrol vessels (NOPVs). They are meant for multi-domain operations, the ministry said, covering maritime surveillance, search and rescue, protection of offshore assets, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) and anti-piracy missions.

Offshore patrol ships carry much of the Navy's routine work along the coast and in the waters beyond it.

Two shipyards are building the NGOPV class together

Construction of the class is running at two yards at the same time, Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) and GRSE in Kolkata, according to the ministry.

The Ministry of Defence signed contracts for 11 NGOPVs in March 2023, seven with GSL and four with GRSE, at a combined cost of around Rs 9,781 crore. Both builders are defence public sector shipyards, and the ships are being designed and built in India from the keel up.

GRSE launched NGOPV Shruti from the same yard in August

The NGOPV Shreyas launch comes two months after GRSE sent NGOPV Shruti, Yard 3037, down the slipway in Kolkata on 11 August. The Kolkata yard has had a busy year. In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned three GRSE-built ships in a single ceremony at Kolkata, the frigate INS Dunagiri, the survey vessel INS Sanshodhak and the anti-submarine warfare craft INS Agray.

On the west coast, the Navy commissions INS Mangrol, a Cochin Shipyard-built anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft, at Naval Dockyard Mumbai on Monday.

Indigenous shipbuilding push behind the Shreyas launch

The Indian Navy builds the bulk of its new warships at Indian yards such as GRSE.

The ministry described the launch as another milestone in the Navy's pursuit of indigenous shipbuilding, in line with the government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives.