Cochin Shipyard

History

Cochin Shipyard was incorporated in 1972 as a Government of India company, with the first phase of facilities coming online in 1982.

In August 2012, the Government of India announced plans of divestment to raise capital of ₹1,500 crore for further expansion through an initial public offering (IPO) towards the end of the fiscal year. The Government finalised the decision of stake sale on 18 November 2015. 3.39 crore (33.9 million) shares were planned to be sold, out of which the government held 1,13,000 shares while the others were fresh equity. However, this did not materialise until August 2017, when the company conducted its IPO and listed its shares on the BSE and NSE.

Activities

The yard has facilities to build vessels up to 1,10,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) and repair vessels up to 1,25,000 DWT.

Shipbuilding

The first ship to roll out of the Cochin Shipyard was the MV Rani Padmini in 1981.

The yard has delivered two of India's largest double-hull Aframax tankers, each of , including Maharshi Parashuram and Abul Kalam Azad to the Shipping Corporation of India.

CSL has secured shipbuilding orders from internationally renowned companies from Europe and West Asia. The shipyard is building six bulk carriers for Clipper Group of the Bahamas and the first three vessels have been launched.

Eight platform supply vessels for the Norwegian Seatankers Management Company, are also under construction..

On 27 December 2024, Adani Ports and SEZ, through its subsidiary, Ocean Sparkle Limited, ordered eight tug boats from CSL. The order is worth about ₹450 crores comprisng eight 70 T Bollard Pull Azimuthing Stern Drive Tugs delivered by Udupi Cochin Shipyard Limited. Deliveries will start in December 2026 and are expected to be completed by August 2028.

As of 30 June 2025, CSL has an order book of of which 66% is from the Indian Navy. The share is down from 88%.

On 12 January 2026, the shipyard delivered the first of eight multi-purpose vessel, HS Heinz, to Germany-based shipping company HS Schiffahrts. The vessels are part of the HS EcoFreighter ice-class series and are worth each. The constructions began in March 2023 with the steel-cutting ceremony of the first vessel. The vessels, designed by Netherlands-based Groot Ship Design and following DNV classification rules, are meant to carry project and heavy cargo, steel coils, containers, timber, paper, dry bulk commodities such as coal and grain, as well as hazardous materials. The vessel has a single large cargo hold with six movable partitions for reconfiguration based on the cargo to be transported. It also features a tween deck arrangement.

Naval ships

INS ''Vikrant''

Main article: INS Vikrant (2013)

Cochin Shipyard built India's first indigenous aircraft carrier-INS Vikrant (formerly, the Project 71 "Air Defence Ship"). The carrier is the largest warship built by CSL. In February 2020, all major structural and outfitting work was declared complete. Sea trials finally began on 4 August. Five day long sea trials were successfully completed on 8 August 2021. The ship was commissioned on 2 September 2022.

[[INS Anvesh (A41)|INS Anvesh]]

Main article: INS Anvesh (A41)

CSL, in collaboration with DRDO built INS Anvesh, a missile range instrumentation ship to be used as a Floating Test Range for India's ballistic missile defence program. Its construction was awarded to CSL in 2015 and was laid down by 2016. It was commissioned into Naval service on 11 March 2022.

Mahe-class corvette

Main article: Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft

CSL and GRSE are building the ships of the ASW-SWC class for the Indian Navy. The ships built at Kochi by CSL are called Mahe class and those built by GRSE are called Arnala Class.On 30 April 2019, the MoD and CSL signed the contract, valued at ₹6,311 crore for the construction of eight ships within a deadline of 84 months On 1 December 2020, CSL initiated the project's construction, with the steel-cutting of the first ASW-SWC vessel, the INS Mahe*.*

[[Aadesh-class patrol vessel|Aadesh-class]] [[Patrol boat|Fast Patrol Vessel]]

CSL has built 20 FPVs for the Indian Coast Guard.The ships have been designed by M/s Smart Engineering & Design Solutions (SEDS) in Kochi.

[[Next Generation Missile Vessels]]

On 30 March 2023, The ministry of defence authorised acquisition of six NGMV from CSL at a cost of ₹9,805 crore (US$1.2 billion).On 16 December 2024, the steel cutting ceremony for the first ship of NGMV held at the Cochin Shipyard.The delivery of ships is scheduled to commence from March 2027

Ship repair

The shipyard started offering repair services in 1982 and has undertaken upgrades and repairs for all types of ships, including ships for the oil exploration industry, as well as scheduled maintenance and life extension for ships of the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, the Union territory of Lakshadweep, Fisheries and Cochin Port Trust, SCI and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). It has performed major overhauls for the aircraft carrier INS Viraat.

CSL was awarded major maintenance and upgrade orders from ONGC. This included major overhaul of three rigs, the mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) Sagar Vijay, mobile offshore drilling unit Sagar Bhushan and jackup rig Sagar Kiran in 2005-06.

It performed major overhauls for the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya in 2016 and 2024.

On 5 April 2024, CSL became the third Indian shipyard after Kattupalli Shipyard of Larsen & Toubro and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders to sign a Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) with the United States Navy for repair of its Military Sealift Command Fleet Support Ships. The ships operated by MSC are non-commissioned US Navy "support vessels" with civilian crews bearing the prefix "USNS". Under the agreement, the US Naval ships of the Central Command that are in voyage are to be repaired in India.

Others

The shipyard also trains graduate engineers in marine engineering. Around one hundred students are trained each year.

References

References

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6. "Cochin Shipyard Limited firms up plans to go for IPO by year-end". [[The Times of India]].
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19. (2015-11-20). "Cochin Shipyard to build secret vessel for DRDO". The Hindu.
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21. Menon, Adithya Krishna. (2023-04-25). "India Conducts First Test of New Ship-Based BMD System".
22. Bureau, Defence Watch. (2019-04-29). "GRSE Signs Contract for 08 Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Watercraft".
23. (2019-04-30). "Cochin Shipyard gets Rs 6,311 crore contract for anti submarine warfare ships - BusinessToday".
24. "Indian ASW corvette programme cuts first steel {{!}} Shephard".
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34. "ASSESSING INDIA-US "MASTER SHIP REPAIR AGREEMENTS" (MSRAs)".
35. (2023-09-07). "Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders inks pact with US Navy to service its fleet - CNBC TV18".
36. "Cochin Shipyard – Marine Engineering Training Website".