Poised to Face Challenges of
the Future
India began her tryst with the sea
almost five thousand years ago. But the first shipbuilding activity in
Mumbai began only as late as 1673. Reports of the era mention that ships
weighing as much as 200 tons were hauled ashore for repairs. A dock that
was capable of building and repairing ships was the need of the hour. A
need that was the genesis of Mazagon Dock. The dock was built with the
aim of repairing merchant ships and warships belonging to the British,
French, Moghul and Maratha fleets.
According to the records, Mazagon
Dock's ability to build teak ships earned it a pride of place in Indian
maritime history. Mazagon Dock has the enviable reputation of having built
one of Britain's oldest and famous vessels - the Trincomalee.
Built in 1814, she was commissioned in 1817 as a 46-gun frigate. After
eight decades of meritorious service, she was renamed the Foudroyant
and converted into a maritime museum giving visitors a glimpse of life
at sea after the Napoleonic wars.
Over the years, Mazagon Dock witnessed
many changes. Modernisation and expansion activities were put into place
including the construction of three dry docks. In 1934, it become a Pu8blic
Ltd. Company. Twenty six years later on 14th May 1960 it passed into the
hands of the Indian Government, and the Dock continued to grow from strength
to strength.
Mazagon Dock's forte lies in using
a healthy blend of traditional ship repair skills and modern technology
to perform challenging tasks. Over the years it has risen to the occasion
every time the maritime fraternity has had an unusual requirement. Whether
it was the task of replacing the damaged bow structure of HMS Ambuscade
or converting Indian Navy's Trishul from a gun toting frigate
to a missile carrying one, Mazagon Dock has proved more than equal to the
task.
Mazagon Dock takes its role as a
one-stop-marine-solutions company very seriously. Build-maintain-refit-repair
philosophy has proved invaluable to many organisations and maritime security
forces. Offshore patrol vessels for the Coast Guard and the ONGC's supply
vessels are prime beneficiaries of this programme. Through this programme,
ships are maintained throughout their useful life, preventive maintenance
schedules are planned and trouble-free operations are ensured through equipment
overhauls, replacement or modernisation and providing statutory services.
Another benefit is that the concept eliminates the need for logistics of
ship maintenance.
Mazagon Dock's contribution to the
strengthening and maintaining of the seaworthiness and striking power of
the Indian Navy's vessels has been chronicled in the annals of Indian Naval
history. Almost 30 years ago, Mazagon Dock built the INS Nilgiri
- India's first indigenously built Leander class frigate. Five more ships
followed in the subsequent decade, each an improvement over the previous
one. These had enhanced anti-submarine capabilities with facilities for
landing and carrying seeking helicopters. The level of improvements made
on each subsequent frigate is apparent when one considers that the last
of the Leanders, Taragiri, and Vindhyagiri
bore little resemblance to their older sisters. Mazagon Dock has reason
to be proud of its achievements as all the improvements on the Leanders
were carried out by an in-house team of experts.
India's first indigenously designed
missile frigates of the Godavari class were also build by Mazagon Dock.
INS Godavari, was commissioned in 1983, followed by Ganga
in 1985 and Gomati in 1988. The Navy also selected the yard
as the lead shipyard to build its new corvettes and Missile Boats, and
to take on construction of the largest indigenously designed warships -
the guided missile destroyers of the Delhi class. The first of this class,
Delhi was commissioned in 1997, followed by Mysore
in 1999 and the third, Bombay will join the Navy in 2000.
These 6,800 tonne, gas turbine propelled vessels are the largest warships
to be built in India.
Mazagon Dock displayed its versatility
in building submarines for the Indian Navy. The Shalki in
1992 and Shankul in 1994 are high technology type 209 submarines
built in collaboration with M/s HDW of Germany. The facilities for production
of submarines were set up at Mazagon Dock on 1984.
The Dock has also helped safeguard
the country's coastline by designing and delivering specially constructed
1200 - tonne offshore Patrol Vessels to the Coast Guard. Moreover, Mazagon
Dock has designed and constructed over fifty-five non-combative vessels
of various types including multi-purpose cargo vessels, dredgers, tugs,
harbour craft, support vessels, passenger vessels and water tankers.
The discovery of oil at Bombay High
opened for Mazagon Dock a new horizon for diversification. In 1978, MDL
diversified into offshore construction work. Beginning modestly with fabrication
of well head platforms for the ONGC, the company then embarked on the more
complex tasks of transporting and installing platforms. Since then Mazagon
Dock has constructed more than 60 offshore well head platforms, three process
platforms, two jack up rigs, coated 700 kms. of sub sea pipelines and laid
about 400 kms. of sub sea pipe lines.
Mazagon Dock's commitment to quality,
innovation and timely delivery has won the company a number of certificates.
In 1998 the shipbuilding division was awarded the coveted ISO-9001 certificate
for ship building, ship repair, design, development, promotion, installation
and servicing of all surface ships and floating craft. In the same year,
the offshore division was also given the prestigious `U' stamp certificate
for fabricating pressure vessels and heat exchangers conforming to ASME
standards. This was followed by the ISO-9002 certification for the offshore
division.
The Company has a well established
computer aided design (CAD) Centre. The CAD Centre gives flexibility in
design and modification and generates various types of product related
information. The facility also enables Mazagon Dock to offer complete integrated
projects. Some of the recent ones include a submarine rescue vessel, a
high speed missile frigate, a high speed missile corvette, a high-speed-shallow
water passenger ferry, fast patrol vessel with variants and a combo carrier.
Thanks to the submarine programme, MDL now has a covered dry-dock, workshops
and an automatic welding station. Mazagon Dock can now also handle high-tensile
steel and hi-tech material like Titanium, Duplex, Super Duplex and other
specialised material for fabrication and outfitting. All these services
have enhanced Mazagon Dock's capabilities as a full-fledged marine solutions
provider.
MDL functions as an integral part
of the country's maritime security environment, from designing and building
the successful Delhi Class 6800 tonne destroyers to providing lead yard
services for corvettes and missile boats to sister yards. Mazagon dock
has assisted the Coast Guard by designing and building offshore patrol
vessels, that today form the backbone of the Coast Guard fleet. These OPVs
are comparable to the best in the world. They have simple systems in consonance
with merchant ship practices and also possess the operational features
of a warship.
Mazagon Dock's contribution to the
country's energy sector is equally impressive. It has built eight offshore
supply vessels and a diving support vessel for the ONGC. Besides the fabrication
and installation of 60 wellhead platforms, two jackup rigs and coating
and laying of hundreds of kilometers of subsea pipelines in Bombay High.
Mazagon Dock's vast experience in
ship building and ship repair has enabled it to serve other countries and
earn valuable foreign exchange.
Today Mazagon Dock stands poised
to face challenges of the future. Its corporate plans include development
of infrastructure and training programmes to regularly upgrade the workforce's
technical skills and know-how. This will enable MDL to maintain the highest
possible design and production standards, while ensuring that every delivery
is made in time. |