Hindustan Shipyard Limited plans first satellite shipyard in north coastal A.P.

The Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) has decided to expand its footprint by setting up a new and first satellite shipyard in north coastal Andhra Pradesh. The company’s Chairman and Managing Director Commodore Hemant Khatri and his team have already approached the State government for allotment of land for the project.

“We are working on the expansion of HSL with a satellite shipyard closely linked to the company here. This will help us achieve business and targets. At least 110 acres of land is required for the project. Initially, Moolapeta in Srikakulam district and the Kakinada coastline have been identified with formal site visits. We are trying to meet the government again to expedite the PPP mode project,” Commodore Khatri told the media, here, Tuesday.

Having already crossed a turnover of around ₹1,800 crore in 2024-25 financial year, the HSL is targeting to reach the ₹3,000-crore mark in the next two years, he said.

“The HSL’s performance in the last five financial years is indicative of our strong growth trajectory. Our total revenue has steadily increased from ₹403 crore in FY 2020-21 to ₹1,783 crore in FY 2024-25, a four-fold increase in five years. After a loss of ₹85 crore in FY 2020-21, we bounced back with a profit of ₹51 crore in the next fiscal and continued to improve with a profit of ₹284 crore in FY 2024-25,” he pointed out.

The HSL has taken proactive initiatives including strategic partnership agreement with M/S Lotus Wireless of Visakhapatnam, and M/S Vinssen and M/S DSEC of South Korea. “We have a collaboration with M/S Toshiba of Japan for LTO batteries. With this, the HSL has developed designs for electric and hydrogen tugs and the yard, and has sent proposals for 150 Pax hydrogen ferry to the Inland Waterways Authority of India,” he said.

“As all these projects and targets are huge, we need a satellite shipyard to support the targets. We are working on it,” said Commodore Khatri.

INS Nipun

Meanwhile, Commodore Khatri said that INS Nipun, the second of two indigenous diving support vessels (DSVs), will shortly be handed over Indian Navy. The HSL has presented its sister vessel INS Nistar recently and it has been commissioned.

The vessels are designed for deep-sea diving and submarine resource operations, he added.

Upcoming projects

Commodore Khatri said that the HSL was pursuing business in defence, green vessels, commercial and oil& gas sectors. The HSL has upcoming projects like LPD (landing platform dock) and mine counter measures vessels, next generation water jet fast attack craft (WJFAC). I

In commercial segment, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has projected demand for 112 vessels, including 30 medium range product tankers, 24 very large gas carriers, and four off shore vessels.

In the green vessel sector, the HSL is aligning with the national drive towards sustainability by targeting electric and hydrogen-powered tugs for major Indian ports such Visakhapatnam Port Authority, he said.

In the oil & gas sector, the HSL is eyeing opportunities for two well-head platforms for Oil India Limited, and two jack-up rigs for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), he added.

“Recently, we have signed an MoU with Pentagon Rugged Systems for developing anti-drone technology and long-range non-line of sight (NLOS) communication for naval vessels. We have entered an MoU with Bharat Earth Movers Limited to develop indigenous marine systems in line with Atmanirbhar Bharat,” Commodore Khatri added.