VISAKHAPATNAM: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Visakhapatnam on Monday evening to participate in programmes organised by the Eastern Naval Command, Naval Dockyard and Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL).
He will launch Fleet Support Ship-1 (FSS-1), lay the keel for FSS-5 and inaugurate the upgraded Slipway-4 and a 300-tonne Goliath Crane at HSL on October 6. Rajnath Singh was welcomed at INS Dega by District Collector M. Abhishikth Kishore and Police Commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi, who presented him with bouquets. The upgraded Slipway-4, with an extended length and enhanced load-bearing capacity, along with the 300-tonne Goliath Crane, will enable HSL to build and launch vessels of up to 45,000 DWT.
FSS-1, the first of five Fleet Support Ships being built for the Indian Navy, will enter the waters of the Bay of Bengal just 18 months after steel cutting. These 43,500-tonne vessels will replenish warships at the sea.