The state of the art 105 mtr Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel (NOPV) INS ‘Sumitra’ was ceremoniously launched on 6th Dec 2010 at the Goa Shipyard by Smt Shiela Singh, wife of Shri R K Singh Secretary Defence Production. Launching of NOPV, INS “SUMITRA”, the fourth in the series of four naval Offshore Patrol Vessels being indigenously designed and constructed by Goa Shipyard Ltd for the Indian Navy was yet another milestone in GSL’s quest for self reliance in sophisticated shipbuilding.
The Chief Guest, Shri R K Singh Secretary Defence Production , Rear Admiral Sudhir Pillai NM, Flag Officer Commanding Goa Area, RAdm (Retd) Vineet Bakhshi VSM Chairman & Managing Director GSL and various other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
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Ships like these may be the future of naval shipbuilding. More and more Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPV) are being built and for good reason. The more heavily-armed frigates are getting more and more expensive, placing them out of reach of smaller to mid-sized navies. And, with there being less and less of a chance that there will be a major Midway-like fleet confrontation in the future (with only China and the United States possessing substantial fleets for this sort of warfare), NOPVs may be the more affordable alternative for smaller and mid-sized navies. Look for the growth of Coast Guards around the world as well. Naval warfare is becoming very, very, expensive and soon may be fought by only a handful of frigates and destroyers. This trend should be a boom for the NOPV industry.
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