Indian Navy commissions eighth and final Mk IV landing craft

The Indian Navy (IN) has commissioned its eighth and final Mk IV landing craft utility (LCU) platform ordered from state-owned shipyard Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in September 2011.

The IN commissioned its eighth and final Mk IV landing craft in a ceremony held on 18 March at Port Blair. (Indian Navy)

Named IN LCU L58, the 62.8 m vessel entered service in a ceremony held on 18 March at Port Blair, the capital of India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands and headquarters of the IN-headed tri-service command.

The LCU, which is part of an INR21 billion (USD290 million) contract for eight such vessels signed between GRSE and the Indian government, was launched on 16 December 2016 at GRSE’s facility in Kolkata, and has now joined the seven other vessels of the class – L51, L52, L53, L54, L55, L56, L57 – the first of which entered service in March 2017.

Each of the LCUs is capable of transporting up to 160 fully equipped troops, main battle tanks, armoured vehicles, and other equipment, including containerised mission modules for amphibious and sealift operations.

Based at the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), these ships can also be employed in a number of missions, including beaching, search-and-rescue, humanitarian-assistance and disaster-relief, and supply and replenishment operations.

Each vessel of the Mk IV class displaces 830 tons, has a crew of 50 – including five officers – and is fitted with “state-of-the-art equipment and advanced systems” such as a locally designed integrated bridge system (IBS) and an integrated platform management system (IPMS), according to the IN.