The Ministry of Defence on Monday signed a contract for normal refit of Sindhukirti kilo class diesel-electric submarine at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) in Visakhapatnam. The submarine will refitted at an overall cost of ₹934 crore.

Sindhukirti is one of the oldest submarines operated by the Indian Navy. The submarine was acquired from erstwhile Soviet Union in 1990. Earlier, a submarine of the same class was refitted with modern weapons, electronic systems and sensors.

“After the completion of refit, Sindhukirti will be combat worthy and will join the active submarine fleet of the Indian Navy,” said the ministry.

Slower than a nuclear submarine, the Sindhukirti can remain on a mission for up to 40 days but has to emerge near sea water surface once in 24 hours to put out fumes from diesel engines. It can accommodate 70 personnel.

Describing it as steps towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, the ministry said the refit will help develop an alternate repair facility for submarines and is a further step towards undertaking medium refit with life certification at HSL. The project will involve more than 20 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and would generate employment equivalent of 1,000 mandays per day during the project execution, the ministry said.

The HSL has invested to upscale its infrastructure and has tied up with Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea in 2015 to enhance its functioning. In that year, the HSL had handed over a refitted submarine to Navy at a cost of ₹900 crore. For FY22, HSL posted its highest ever turnover of ₹755 crore and a net profit of ₹50.78 crore.

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