India's defence shipyards ready to speed up submarine construction

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), India's two premier defence shipyards, have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in an attempt to speed up the country's self-reliance efforts in submarine construction.

- ARITRA BANERJEE

As part of the agreement, the Mumbai-based MDL and Visakhapatnam-headquartered HSL are to jointly carry out submarine projects, giving India submarine production capabilities that cover both the eastern and western coasts.

Why is this MoU important? The recent strategic partnership between HSL and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL)—India's traditional submarine builder—signifies an alignment designed to leverage both yards' capabilities. HSL will contribute outfitting expertise, significantly reducing production timelines and optimising resource allocation across India's submarine construction projects.

This dual-yard approach, combining the capabilities of MDL on the West Coast and HSL on the East Coast, offers significant strategic advantages. Historically, India's reliance on a single construction facility has been seen as constraining submarine production capacity and timelines, making it challenging to meet the Navy's strategic requirement of approximately two dozen submarines.

With two dedicated submarine-building yards now operational, India can efficiently achieve these critical force-level targets, overcome historical capacity limitations, and maintain sustained operational readiness and strategic flexibility.

While MDL has been an established player in the field of submarine reconstruction, HSL has rapidly built its capabilities to become a strong entrant into the field.

But how did HSL rise to this occasion?

THE ROLE OF HSL

HSL has a crucial role in India's maritime defence sector.

Initially established for naval ship repairs, HSL has steadily evolved, mastering the processes of submarine refits and upgrades.