ndia has cancelled the project to construct 12 advanced minesweepers in collaboration with South Korea at the Goa Shipyard after the project hit many roadblocks along the way. Goa Shipyard was nominated by the Indian Ministry of Defence to make 12 mine counter-measure vessels (MCMVs) for the Indian Navy. However, the $5 billion project had been stuck in different stages many times, causing long delays and consequently a cancellation.
Indian Government is planning to issue a fresh Request for Proposal (RFP) that will see the project begin anew. The decision to issue the fresh RFP is expected to have the project move very fast as all technical details and specifications of the MCMVs have been finalized over the last two years. The vessels are expected to have 60% indigenous content.
India currently operates six 30-year-old minesweepers which will have to be decommissioned between 2018 and 2020.
