• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

INS Deepak Underway-Replenishment Fleet Tanker

On the occasion of the international exhibition Euronaval in February 2008 - the most important trade fair for the defence industries in Paris-Le Bourget - Fincantieri announced the company has gained an order to build a fleet tanker for the Indian Navy. Following previous orders to Russian industries, this is the first order for a surface vessel for which India has chosen a foreign company, Fincantieri, which competed to win the order against leading international players, especially from Russia and Korea. The navy will get its new Italian tanker in just two years, while it took Garden Reach Shipyard 12 years to build the navy's last tanker- the INS Aditya. The vessel was built at the shipyards in Liguria for delivery at the end of 2010.

Fincantieri had already built the "Sagar Nidhi" for India, an oceanographic vessel for the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Madras which was delivered at the end of 2007. In addition, in 2004 the company drew up two contracts with Cochin shipyard regarding the design of the engine, technology transfer and the provision of complementary services for the construction of the Air Defence Ship (ADS); activities are also in the process of being finalized for the sharing of the functional design and details of the propulsion system. The assistance stage at the Indian shipyard is about to start up shortly.

The vessel is 175 metres long, 25 wide and 19 high and will have a displacement at full load of 27,500 tonnes. The ship is powered by two 10,000 kW diesel engines which will enable it to reach a maximum speed of 20 knots and its propulsion system will feature an adjustable blade propeller. There is also be a flight deck on board for medium-heavy helicopters (up to 10 tons). The ship will accommodate up to 248-250 passengers - crew and supplementary personnel. Equipped with double hatches, the vessel will be able to service four ships at the same time.

In accordance with the new Marpol regulations of the International Maritime Organization concerning the protection of the environment, this will be the first ship of this type to be built with a double hull thereby improving protection of the fuel tanks and avoiding the risk of pollution in case of collision or damage.

On January 21, 2011 the commissioning ceremony for the "Deepak", the first of two fleet tankers ordered from Fincantieri by the Indian Navy was held in Mumbai. Present at the ceremony were A.K. Antony, the Indian Minister of the Defence, Admiral Nirmal Varma, Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, and Corrado Antonini, Chairman of Fincantieri. The order was the first surface vessel India has ordered from a European company, gained in competition against prominent international players, in particular from Russia and Korea.

By early 2009 Fincantieri was negotiating the possible sale of another fleet replenishment tanker. The sister ship of the "Deepak", the "Shakti", which was launched October 2010 at Sestri Ponente (Genoa) shipyard, is currently being fitted out at Sestri Ponente shipyard (Genova). Delivery is scheduled in autumn 2011. INS Shakti, constructed at M/s Fincantieri Shipyard in Genova, Italy was inducted in the IN on October 1, 2011.

Cooperation with India commenced in 2004 when Fincantieri signed two contracts with Cochin shipyard for the design of the engine, technology transfer and provision of complementary services for the construction of Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC). In addition, in 2007, the company delivered the "Sagar Nidhi", an oceanographic vessel for the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Madras, which is already in service off the Indian coast to the full satisfaction of the customer.

Fincantieri considers the market in the East strategic and holds in high regard the development of cooperation with its prestigious Indian partner, proof of which is both the opening in recent years of a representative office in New Delhi and, now, of a Fincantieri technical support unit in India in order to guarantee to the Indian Navy maximum availability and efficiency of the new Fleet Tankers.

The Indian Navy is the fourth Navy in the world in terms of resources/staff (96,000 men and women) and vessels (125). In recent years, the Indian Navy has started complex modernization of its fleet renewing some units built locally, thanks to targeted industrial cooperation with Western countries.