India signs deal with Turkey’s TAIS Shipyards for five fleet support vessels.

India's state-owned Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) and TAIS, a consortium of five Turkish shipbuilders, have signed an INR160 billion (USD2.1 billion) deal to jointly design and build five 45,000-tonne fleet support vessels for the Indian Navy.

A rendering of the Indian Navy’s future Fleet Support Ship (Picture source: TAIS)

The Turkish consortium won the tender for 5 fleet support vessels for the Indian navy in May of last year. But the formal deal was signed during President Erdogan’s visit to Islamabad last month. This decision came after being put on hold for months over tensions between New Delhi and Ankara.

TAIS will carry out the modernization of the local shipyard, the design of the ships, engineering services, planning and management of production, preparation of shipbuilding material specifications and main materials.

Support Vessels are capable of acting as underway supply points or as coastal supply points where harbor installations are not available or safe enough. They provide fuel, food, ammunition and spare parts to ensure the continued operational readiness of Task Groups at all times.

In addition, they support Task Groups with their special repair facilities and feature on-board hospital for disaster relief operations. They act as Command Platforms for various types of Tasks Groups and provide navies with a tactical advantage.

The construction of the first vessel was initially scheduled to begin by the end of 2020, with the first vessel expected to be delivered to the Navy in 2024.

A rendering of the Indian Navy’s future Fleet Support Ship (Picture source: TAIS)