NEW DELHI, November 6 (Aalimi Nation) – The Indian Navy has received INS Amini, an indigenously built anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft, the Defence Ministry said on Friday. The vessel was designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers in Kolkata and is meant to bolster coastal defence.
The ministry said the ship will add to the Navy's anti-submarine, coastal surveillance and mine-laying capabilities. It described the delivery as another milestone in indigenous naval shipbuilding and in line with the government's vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, or self-reliance.
INS Amini anti-submarine craft: what it carries
Amini is described as one of the largest Indian naval warships propelled by waterjets. It is equipped with lightweight torpedoes, indigenous rocket launchers and sonars designed to detect and engage threats beneath the surface. Defence-sector accounts of the delivery add that it carries an advanced combat management system and a 30 mm naval gun.
Those accounts put the vessel at about 77.6 metres in length, with a draught of roughly 2.7 metres. A shallow draught allows a warship to work close to the shore, where larger frigates and destroyers cannot easily operate. Waterjet propulsion, which uses pumps rather than conventional propellers, is intended to give such craft greater agility in confined coastal waters.
The ministry said the ship has more than 80 per cent indigenous content. Other accounts of the programme put the share at about 88 per cent across the class; the two figures have not been reconciled, and the ministry's formulation is used here.
Delivery and place in the programme
The vessel was accepted on Thursday, November 5, by a Rear Admiral of the Navy who serves as Chief Staff Officer (Technical) at the Eastern Naval Command headquarters, according to accounts of the handover. Reports describe Amini as the fifth of eight anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft being built by the Kolkata shipyard. No date has been announced for the remaining ships.
Amini is named after Amini Island in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, part of an island chain in the Arabian Sea. The ministry did not say when a formal commissioning ceremony would be held. Delivery, in naval practice, is the point at which the builder hands the ship over after trials; commissioning follows when the Navy formally inducts it into service under a commanding officer.
Why it matters
Shallow water craft of this type are intended to replace older, ageing coastal anti-submarine vessels and to patrol India's long coastline, where submarines and other underwater threats can be harder to detect than in open ocean. Sonar performance is more difficult in shallow, noisy waters, which is why specialised hulls and sensors are used.
The ministry linked the project to domestic manufacturing, saying the high local content reflects a growing defence production ecosystem and reduces dependence on imports. It did not give the cost of the ship or the contract value, and it did not detail the sensors beyond describing them as sonars.
What happens next will depend on the Navy's schedule: crew familiarisation and a commissioning ceremony would normally follow delivery, and the remaining ships in the series are due to be handed over by the shipyard in the coming period. Officials have not announced timelines for those handovers.
