Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) takes pride in the delivery of ‘INS Arnala’, the first in a series of eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts (ASW SWCs), to the Indian Navy. The vessel was delivered by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd, marking a significant milestone in India’s journey towards self-reliance in defence production.

‘INS Arnala’ has been indigenously designed and constructed in compliance with the Naval Classification Rules of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) and has demonstrated the successful collaboration between Indian Defence Public Sector Undertakings, the private sector, and IRS in building very capable naval platforms.

The primary role of the warship is to undertake naval underwater operations, covering underwater surveillance, detection and neutralisation of hostile submarines, in shallow waters, where the environment renders these tasks more difficult, by several orders of magnitude, than in an ‘open ocean’ environment.  The vessels are also equipped for mine-laying, and other secondary roles.

Cdr K K Dhawan, Head of Defence said: “Indian Register of Shipping is honoured to be associated with this prestigious project and remains committed to supporting India’s defence and maritime developments through robust technical standards, innovation, and collaborative efforts. IRS is proud to have certified these vessels, which have over 80% indigenous content, which is a testimony to the commitment of IRS towards India’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative.'”