India’s state-owned Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd signed an agreement with the Directorate General, Defence Purchase, Ministry of Defence of Bangladesh, on Sunday (30 June) for the construction of an advanced ocean-going tug, the Kolkata-headquartered company said.

It said in a statement on Monday (1 July) that GRSE signed another contract with Bangladesh for delivery of a trailing suction hopper (TSH) dredger.

The overall length (LOA) of the tug will be nearly 61 metres and the vessel will be about 15.80 metres wide with a depth nearly 6.80 metres.

The tug's draught requirement with a full load will be around 4.80 metres while its bollard pull capacity will be 76 tonnes ahead and 50 tonnes astern. The ship's maximum speed with a full load will be at least 13 knots.

Shantanu Bose, Director (Shipbuilding), GRSE and Commodore AKM Maruf Hassan, Director Purchase (Navy), Directorate General Defence Purchase, Bangladesh Ministry of Defence were present during the signing of the agreement in Kolkata.

The tug's primary roles will include towing of ships at sea, both alongside and astern, assist them during berthing and casting off as well as help them in turning through pushing and pulling. The vessel will also have the capability to carry out rescue and salvage operations at sea.

Its secondary roles will be to provide firefighting support to ships at sea and limited pollution control measures. The platform will be extremely robust with a capability to operate even at sea state 5 (wind speeds of 17-21 knots and wave heights of 2-3 metres) with dynamic positioning - 2 system capability.

This is an advanced computer-controlled system that allows a ship to maintain its heading and position without the use of mooring lines or anchors.

During Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s state visit to India on 21-22 June, India and Bangladesh agreed to bolster their defence relationship and signed agreements for expanding cooperation in maritime security and ocean economy among other areas.