On Tuesday, 6 October 2026, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the Indian Navy’s first indigenously built Fleet Support Ship, FSS‑1 “Surya”, at Hindustan Shipyard Limited in Visakhapatnam. The ceremony also saw the keel laid for the fifth ship of the series, FSS‑5. Attendees included Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, HSL Chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral C. Raghuram, Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat and Roads and Buildings Minister B.C. Janardhan Reddy.
Surya measures 223.6 metres long and 31.5 metres wide, with a draught of 9.3 metres and a displacement of about 43,500 tonnes. The vessel can reach 20 knots and carries 20,000 tonnes of low‑sulphur high‑speed diesel, 2,500 tonnes of aviation turbine fuel, 1,000 tonnes of fresh water and 250 tonnes of feed water. It also holds up to eight 20‑foot containers for ammunition, spare parts and provisions. Onboard workshops enable first‑line maintenance and emergency repairs for both the ship and the warships it supports.
During the launch, Singh also inaugurated HSL’s newly modernised Slipway No. 4, which is 235 metres long and 37.5 metres wide, and a 300‑tonne Goliath crane. The upgrades expand the shipyard’s covered dock capacity to 80,000 DWT and allow it to build naval platforms of up to 45,000 DWT. HSL, established in 1941 as Scindia Shipyard and incorporated in 1952, has built 203 ships, completed 2,045 repairs and refitted six submarines over eight decades.
The Indian Navy currently operates four fleet tankers—INS Shakti and INS Jyoti on the eastern coast under the Eastern Naval Command, and INS Deepak and INS Aditya on the western coast— which refuel and resupply warships at sea. The five Fleet Support Ships, built under a single contract with 82% indigenous content, are designed for 60‑day missions and “out‑of‑area” operations across the Indian Ocean Region. They feature self‑defence systems against missiles, torpedoes and mines, a helicopter deck certified for medium‑role operations up to Sea State 5, and a combined diesel‑and‑diesel propulsion system.
