Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to inaugurate key maritime assets at Hindustan Shipyard Limited in Visakhapatnam on October 6, including a Fleet Support Ship (FSS) at the HSL Dockyard.

Mr. Singh also scheduled to inaugurate Slipway 4 and preside over the keel laying of FSS-4.

As the Indian Navy expands its strategic footprint across the Indo-Pacific, maritime logistics has taken the centrestage. The launch of the FSS, slated for October 6, marks a leap in India’s defence self-reliance, highlighting crucial milestones for the indigenous Fleet Support Ship programme.

“The upcoming shipyard events on October 6—featuring the launching of the first indigenous FSS into the water and the keel-laying of another—signal a watershed moment for Indian shipbuilding. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will arrive in the city on October 5 and take part in the HSL’s event the next day. Deliveries for these massive vessels are slated to begin from 2027 onwards,” an HSL official told The Hindu.

Fleet Support Ships (FSS) are critical auxiliary vessels that act as floating petrol stations and warehouses at sea.

Carrying massive reserves of fuel, fresh water, ammunition, and dry provisions, these tankers allow carrier battle groups such as INS Vikrant or INS Vikramaditya, destroyers such as INS Visakhapatnam, and frigates such as INS Shivalik to remain deployed globally for months. Without these mid-sea replenishment tankers, combat ships would be forced to break formation and return to port prematurely.

Currently, the Indian Navy operates four active fleet tankers—INS Shakti and INS Jyoti on the Eastern coast (Visakhapatnam), and INS Deepak and INS Aditya on the Western coast (Mumbai)—supporting over 50 frontline combatants. Historically, these vessels were constructed abroad, notably by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. Globally, navies with vast blue-water reach, such as the United States Navy, maintain the largest fleets of such replenishment ships to sustain worldwide operations.

To make the country self-reliant, the Ministry of Defence signed a ₹19,000-crore contract on August 25, 2023, with the state-run Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) in Visakhapatnam to build five indigenous 45,000-tonne Fleet Support Ships.

HSL, boasting a rich history of strategic shipbuilding, is the primary builder tasked with turning this mega-project into reality.