The ship is 163 metres long and 17 metres wide, has a displacement of 7400 tonnes when fully loaded and has a top speed of 30 knots

Photo Credit : Indian Navy,

The second ship of the Project 15B stealth-guided missile destroyers being built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), Y 12705 (Mormugao) was delivered to the Indian Navy on Thursday, according to defence officials.

The ship is 163 metres long and 17 metres wide, has a displacement of 7400 tonnes when fully loaded and has a top speed of 30 knots. Aside from a plethora of indigenous equipment in the ‘Float’ and ‘Move’ categories, the destroyer is also outfitted with significant indigenous weapons. The project is overall indigenous is more than 75 per cent. 

According to the Defence Ministry, indigenous equipment on the destroyers includes medium-range surface-to-air missiles (made by BEL), BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles (BrahMos Aerospace), indigenous torpedo tube launchers (Larsen & Toubro), anti-submarine rocket launchers (Larsen & Toubro) and 76mm Super Rapid Gun Mount.

According to the Indian Navy, the ship sailed out for her maiden sea sortie on 19 December, last year, to coincide with Goa Liberation Day and has now been delivered.

The delivery of Mormugao demonstrates the government's and the Indian Navy's commitment to ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ as part of the celebration of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.’ 

Despite the Covid challenges, the early induction of the destroyer, almost three months ahead of the contractual date, is a testament to the collaborative efforts of a large number of stakeholders and would enhance the country's maritime prowess in the Indian Ocean region, according to the Navy.

On 28 January 2011, the contract for four Project 15B destroyers, a follow-up to the Kolkata class (Project 15A) destroyers commissioned in the previous decade, was signed. Its lead ship, INS Visakhapatnam, was already commissioned into the Indian Navy last November.

The four ships of the Project are christened after major cities from all four corners of the country, namely Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat and were designed by the Navy's in-house Warship Design Bureau and built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, Mumbai.

The keel of the Mormugao was laid in June 2015 and the ship was launched on 17 September 2016. To benefit from series production, the design has largely retained the Kolkata class's hull form, propulsion machinery, mosy platform equipment and major weapons and sensors.