Ceremonial event of commencing of mega block assembly of hull

: The ceremonial event of commencement of Mega Block Assembly of hull blocks of Ship No 20, the Technology Demonstration Vessel being built for the Defence Research and Development Organisation, was held at Cochin Shipyard Limited.
CSL said this is a major milestone in the construction of the ship.
DRDO Chairman S Christopher was the chief guest.
Addressing the gathering, Christopher appreciated CSL for successfully undertaking construction of such a complex ship.
He said the DRDO believed in the capabilities of CSL while awarding contract for this complex vessel.
"It is now paying off," he said.

The ship with a length of 118.4 meters, 20 meter width and 7.1 meter draft and a steel weight of approximately 3,900 tonnes was contracted in August 2015.

Madhu S Nair, Chairman and Managing Director, Cochin Shipyard, in his welcome speech highlighted the importance of this vessel for both DRDO and CSL.
The Technology Demonstration Vessel has actually turned out to be a Capability Demonstration Vessel, he said.
He also said that construction of the ship would be an opportunity to CSL to prove its capability in construction of hi-tech niche vessels.
Scientists from DRDO and senior officials and other employees of CSL attended the function.
CSL said in a release here that Cochin shipyard has successfully accomplished construction of 20 FPV series for the Coast Guard and the Deck Cargo Launch Barge, one of the largest of its kind to M/s NPCC Abu Dhabi.

Further to construction of the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier for Indian Navy and the Technology Demonstration Vessel, CSL has commenced design work for building two "1200 passenger cum 1000 MT Cargo" and two No "500 passenger cum 150 MT Cargo" vessels for the Andaman & Nicobar Administration.
The two double ended RoRo ferries for Kochi Corporation are also nearing completion, CSL said.