Kolkata, Sep 4 : Warships for the Indian Navy being built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd may soon have doors and hatches made of composite material.

Composite doors and hatches on ships are lightweight, durable and resistant to moisture, salt and corrosion. As they are lighter, the overall weight of the ship gets reduced, improving its endurance. Composites are also impervious to the corrosive effects of salt water and high humidity encountered at sea. This reduces maintenance and replacement costs.

GRSE, on Wednesday (September 3), signed a Teaming Agreement with M/s Merlinhawk Aerospace Pvt Ltd for the design, development, and manufacture of composite doors and hatches for the warships. This agreement is aimed towards establishing a collaborative framework that aligns with the Navy's modernization initiatives.

Composite doors offer excellent thermal and acoustic insulation, contributing to energy efficiency and a sound-proof environment that is so important during operations. Composite doors and hatches can also be manufactured with integrated fire retardants to meet different standards.

Merlinhawk Aerospace is a well-known entity for its niche expertise in aerospace and defence sectors, offering design, prototyping and manufacturing solutions utilising high-end composite materials.

The collaborative association also aims to achieve indigenous content of at least 50 per cent as required under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) or Buy (Indian) categories thereby furthering the objectives of self-reliance in defence manufacturing as outlined in the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative of the Government of India, a senior GRSE official said.

On July 31, GRSE delivered the INS Himgiri, an advanced guided missile frigate with stealth capabilities, to the Navy. The warship was commissioned into the Navy on August 26, along with its sister ship INS Udaygiri ' built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd ' by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The INS Himgiri is the 112th warship (and 801st ship) built by GRSE for the Navy and Coast Guard. This is a record for any shipyard in the country. It was the first of three advanced frigates that GRSE was ordered to build under the Navy's Project 17A. The two other ships of this class are being outfitted at the shipyard.

On August 14, GRSE also delivered the INS Ikshak, a Survey Vessel (Large) to the Navy. This ship is yet to be commissioned.

At the moment, GRSE is building 14 warships of four classes for the Navy. It is also awaiting the formal signing of a contract for Next Generation Corvettes after emerging the lowest bidder.

/IANS