NEW DELHI: Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane on Wednesday presided over the first steel cutting of the Fleet Support Ships (FSS) for the Indian Navy at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Visakhapatnam, Defence Ministry said here.

Giving details, officials said the FSS, under construction at HSL, is first-of-its-kind with a displacement of 44,000 tons and will play a crucial role in replenishing the fleet at sea with fuel, water, ammunition, and stores, thereby extending the operational capabilities of the Navy and enhancing its strategic reach.

The Defence Secretary also laid the foundation stone for the augmentation of the slipway and major infrastructure modernisation to enhance the capacity and capability of the yard.

The ongoing infrastructure upgrades, including the installation of a cutting-edge 300T Goliath crane and slipway upgrades, will further enhance HSL’s capacity to undertake FSS and future projects like the Landing Platform Dock, reinforcing its role in meeting the defence and commercial sector requirements under the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative.

In his address, Aramane termed HSL as an asset of the government. He stated that the present shipbuilding trend is showing an upcoming boom in orders from both defence and commercial sectors and HSL should be geared up to take on any challenge.