The ''Deepak'' class is a class of fleet replenishment tankers of the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

built by

Fincantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (20 ...

. Two ships were ordered and the first one joined the fleet on 21 January 2011, while the second joined on 1 October 2011.

History

INS Deepak construction programme by Muggiano Shipyard of Fincantieri, involved three different shipyards of

, Italy, in a challenging time frame of two years. The ship is in double hull configuration which provides greater safety against accidental oil spillages in accordance with latest MARPOL regulations.

Costs and offset clause

Fincantieri announced in October 2008 that it won an order to build a fleet tanker, with an option for another, against competitive bidding from leading international players, especially from Russia and Korea. The contract, worth about 139 million euro includes a second vessel under an option clause which was signed in March 2009. According to an interview published in Defenseworld.net in May 2009, senior BEL executives stated that as part of the offsets for the first fleet tanker, Fincantieri, in 2008, placed an order worth 14.3 million euros for the supply of Composite Communication System, Versatile Communication System, ESM System, Electric Opto Fire Control System and their integration on board the fleet tanker.

Bharat Electronics Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is an Indian Government-owned aerospace and defence electronics company. It primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for ground and aerospace applications. BEL is one of nine PSUs under the Ministry ...

(BEL) will implement this order in 2009.

Ships of the class

On 12 February 2010, the first ship of the class was launched. The CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) reported that substandard steel was chosen which helped Fincantieri to bag the contract quoting lower cost. On 21 January 2011, INS ''Deepak'' was commissioned in a ceremony at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai by the Defence Minister of India.2 new fleet tankers to boost naval presence
/ref> is the second ''Deepak''-class fleet tanker. It was launched on 11 October 2010 and commissioned on 1 October 2011.INS Shakti inducted into the Indian navy
/ref>Fleet tanker INS Shakti inducted into Indian Navy
/ref>INS Shakti to be commissioned today
/ref>

Gallery

References

External links