Tamal, India’s last imported warship, likely to be commissioned in June

The Indian Navy crew that will operate Tamal, the stealth frigate under construction in Russia, reached St. Petersburg last week in preparation for its commissioning, which is expected to take place in early June.

The event is significant as Tamal will be the last warship to be commissioned outside India or imported. The country now designs and constructs its own warships.

The commissioning crew of around 200 personnel reached St. Petersburg around 10 days ago for training as the ship will undergo a series of trials leading up to its commissioning, officials sources in the know confirmed. The crew will shift to Kaliningrad after the training to oversee the trials.

The ship is being built as part of the deal for four additional follow-on stealth frigates under an Inter-Governmental Agreement signed in October 2016. Under the deal, two ships are to be imported and two manufactured by Goa Shipyard Ltd. (GSL) under technology transfer. A $1-billion deal was subsequently signed for the two frigates under direct purchase.

Tamal has completed manufacturer trials and is currently undergoing State Committee Trials. It will then go through delivery acceptance trials, both in harbour and at sea, which will be spread over 45 to 50 days, sources said, explaining the process. The ship’s weapons will also be fired after which it will be ready for commissioning.

INS Tushil, the first ship to be manufactured in Russia under the deal, was commissioned on December 9, 2024 at Kaliningrad in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The ship reached its home port in Karwar on February 14 after sailing over 12,500 nautical miles, visiting eight countries across three continents through the journey.

For the two frigates to be built in India, GSL signed a $500-million deal with Rosoboronexport of Russia in November 2018 for material, design, and specialist assistance to locally manufacture them. In January 2019, the contract was signed between the Defence Ministry and GSL. All the ships are powered by engines from Zorya Nashproekt of Ukraine.

The first of the frigates was launched into water at GSL last year, and according to official sources the second one is scheduled to be launched in the next couple of months. GSL is scheduled to deliver the first ship in 2026 and the second one six months later. Officials said the delivery schedule is on track.

The Indian Navy, which set up a Directorate of Naval Design way back in 1970, has, for sometime now, graduated into a builder’s navy with over 60 warships being constructed at Indian shipyards.