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L 20 Magar Class Landing Ship Tank — Large (LST-L)

Based on the Sir Lancelot design, these Landing Ship Tank — Large (LST-L) are built at Hindustan SY but fitted at the Garden Reach DY. In fact, GRSE is the only shipyard in India which specialises in designing and building amphibian LST(L) ships for the Indian Navy.

The INS Gharial is one of the largest ships in the Indian Navy, a mammoth Landing Ship Tank — Large (LST-L), capable of carrying two helicopters, one in hangar and one on deck, 10 Vijayanta tanks in her underbelly, and four Landing Craft — Assault (LCA) slung aloft. She is also armed with guns and rocket launchers, which are used to “soften up” a hostile beach before the tanks go in and the LCAs charge in with assault troops.

Reportedly a third of the class with some major design changes was laid down in July 1996, but this was not initially confirmed from reliable sources. Some sources had speculated that completion might take as much as 1 or 2 years, but as of 2005 this third unit had not been forthcoming, suggesting either a contruction schedule that would be protracted even by Indian standards, or more likely that the initial report had been in error.