Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd, abbreviated as GRSE, is an Indian defence shipyard based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It builds and repairs commercial and naval vessels and exports ships constructed at its shipyards.
History Originally established in 1884 as a small river steam workshop on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River to repair local river craft, it was renamed Garden Reach Workshop in 1916 and incorporated as a limited company in 1934. The enterprise was officially nationalised and taken over by the Government of India on 22 April 1960, which serves as the company's official Foundation Day. The company was subsequently renamed Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd in December 1977 to reflect its broader multi-faceted heavy engineering and shipbuilding scope. GRSE was awarded Miniratna Category I public sector undertaking status in September 2006. It holds the distinction of being the first Indian shipyard to build 100 warships. On 19 June 2026, GRSE was granted prestigious Navratna status by the Government of India, becoming the 29th Central Public Sector Enterprise to achieve the designation. As of 2026, GRSE has delivered more than 800 platforms, including 118 warships, and has the capability to construct 28 platforms concurrently. Ongoing shipyard modernisation projects are designed to scale its concurrent shipbuilding capacity up to 32 platforms.
Facilities GRSE has ship building facilities in Kolkata and a diesel engine plant in Ranchi.
It has a large computer-aided design (CAD) centre for ship modelling and design. There are four workshops for plate preparation and steel fabrication.
GRSE has a dry dock for the construction of ships with up to . It has a building berth and two slipways for hull construction. It has a covered all-weather non-tidal wet basin for fitting-out medium and small ships and another fitting-out complex for ships with three berths alongside. In addition, it has two river jetties for berthing smaller vessels up to in length. GRSE has engine assemble, test, repair, and overhaul facilities in Ranchi, which spreads across 62 acres of land.
GRSE and Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK) have inked a long-term concession agreement for GRSE to operate 3 dry docks. Here, GRSE undertakes multiple dry dock repairs of ships up to 160 m length, 20 m beam, and 7 m draught. These docks are situated inside a wet basin, which allows for docking and undocking operations independent of river tidal requirements. The wet basin also has multiple berthing facilities for afloat maintenance and refit operations.
On 1 July 2006, GRSE acquired the loss-making Rajabagan Dockyard (RBD) of the Central Inland Water Transport Corporation (CIWTC). RBD's facilities with its waterfront helped alleviate some of GRSE's space constraints and increase its production capacity.
During 2011, the shipyard was undergoing a upgrade programme, which would be by March 2012. The second phase of the upgrade programme was scheduled to commence from June 2013.
On 7 October 2021, GRSE and SMPK jointly inaugurated the Khidderpore Dry Dock (KPDD) Unit.
On 30 January 2024, GRSE signed a Frame and Individual License Agreement with Rolls-Royce Solutions, Germany, to cooperate in the licensed production and localisation of the MTU IMO Tier II compliant Series 4000 Marine Engines for governmental ships. The agreement enabled GRSE to manufacture the engines in its Diesel Engine Plant in Ranchi. The engines can power warships of fast patrol vessel, interceptor boat and fast attack craft class ships of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard. It is already deployed on the Car Nicobar-class patrol vessel. The series of engines have power output range of . The agreement includes transfer of technology for engine assembly, painting, parts sourcing, and after-sales service for these engines. On 28 January 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had also been signed for the same purpose.
On the occasion of 80th Independence Day of India, in August 2026, GRSE renamed their three shipbuilding units and their design department in honour of iconic personalities from Bengal. This included the Main Works Unit, the Rajabagan Dockyard (RBD) Unit and the Fitting Out Jetty (FOJ) Unit being renamed as the Rabindranath Tagore Shipyard, the Rishi Bankim Shipyard and the Matangini Hazra Shipyard, respectively. Meanwhile, the Central Design Office (CDO) was also renamed as the Centre for Ship Design & Research.
Expansion On 9 February 2026, GRSE signed an agreement with to form a consortium with Hindustan Shipyard to undertake joint large-scale shipbuilding programme.
On 14 July 2026, it was reported that GRSE is also reportedly planning to enter the container-manufacturing business. The company has also undertaken expansion project of its existing facilities. The current shipyard can construct 28 vessels annually which will be expanded to 32 vessels following the completion of the modernisation projects by December 2026. Further, the firm plans to expand two brownfield shipyards in West Bengal along with a greenfield shipyard each in West Bengal and Gujarat.
As for the project in Gujarat, GRSE will form a joint venture with Modest Infrastructure Ltd, a subsidiary of Dempo Shipbuilding & Engineering, to develop a integrated greenfield shipyard at Ratanpar in Bhavnagar district. The proposed facility, GRSE's first shipyard outside Kolkata, will be developed in phases and is designed to construct commercial vessels with up to . The proposed shipyard will be developed on approximately of land, of which will be owned by Modest Infrastructure, with a waterfront about of along the Gulf of Cambay. The shipyard would be able to construct 1 ship of , 3 ships of and six offshore support vessels or platform supply vessels per year. The project could also provide repair facilities for offshore rigs, offshore support vessels and platform supply vessels.
On 23 August, the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated the three shipbuilding infrastructure projects in West Bengal with a combined investment of around . This included establishing a new greenfield shipyard at Raichak, South 24 Parganas; and expanding and upgrading two existing brownfield shipyards in Kidderpore of Kolkata and Shalimar of Howrah. GRSE signed a lease agreement with Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK) to operate the existing yet unused shipyards in Khidirpur and Shalimar for 30 years while they acquired a plot for the Raichak facility which has a waterfront, a -long jetty and a draught. The Raichak facility will receive a dry dock, a slipway, a ship launching pad, each with a length of ; two jetties with a length of and as well as facilities for block fabrication and consolidation, hull repair shops and stores and administrative offices. This over facility can construct warships with a length of up to and commercial vessels of up to which lies in a category of Supramax class.
Further, the projects at the Timber Pond facility of Shalimar with a waterfront will include the restoration of a dry dock, the construction of a slipway, shoreline protection work, and the installation of a dry dock gate and gantry crane as well as establishing facilities for block fabrication, stores and workshops at a cost of for medium-sized shipbuilding and repairs. Meanwhile, the Damodar facility at the Kidderpore Docks (KPD), equipped with an old workshop and a waterfront, will receive a upgrade project for medium-sized vessel repairs and construction of electric ferries and other small craft. The Damodar is adjacent to the three dry docks at KPD already operational with GRSE for ship repairs and refits.
On 21 September, the board of directors of GRSE cleared the investment of for the construction of Raichak shipyard.
Vessels built
Commercial vessels Among commercial ships, GRSE builds non-propelled dredgers, grab hopper dredgers, trailing suction hopper dredgers, tugboats, multi-purpose vessels and bulk carriers.
On 23 July 2026, GRSE has been announced as the lowest bidder in a tender floated by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for the construction of four platform supply vessels after the bids were opened. GRSE had submitted a bid with a quote of per vessel for a total of . The shipyard will receive a financial assistance in the range of 15–20% from the union government under the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy (SBFAP). The notification of award was received by the shipyard as of September 2026.
In late August 2026, GRSE received a contract from the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Limited (WBTDCL) for the procurement of two 100-passenger electric passenger ferry which will be delivered within 18 months.
Exports On 22 June 2024, GRSE secured a contract for the design, construction and delivery of four multi-purpose vessels (MPV) to transport windmill blades. The deal was signed by Carsten Rehder Schiffsmakler and Reederei, a German shipbroker and shipowner firm and GRSE for a value of $54 million. The vessels will measure 120 metres in length and 17 metres in width with a maximum draught of 6.75 metres. The ships will have a single, large cargo hold compartment capable of accommodating bulk, general, and project cargoes. Additionally, they will also be capable of carrying containers or windmill blades on the hatch covers. GRSE has also secured an order of additional 4 MPVs under the "Option Agreement". This brings the total order value of $108 million for 8 ships. The contract for the construction and delivery of 5th ship was signed on 3 October 2024. The final contracts, including those for the seventh and eight vessels, were signed on 24 March 2025. The steel cutting ceremony for the first vessel of the CORAL 7500 DWT MPV series was held on 17 April 2025. The project is undertaken in coordination with multiple firms including F.H. Bertling, ForestWave Navigation/Schulte & Bruns, and Delft Shipping. Meanwhile, M/s SEDS and DNV are the designing partner and the agency for classification and certification, respectively. ForestWave will serve as the time chartered for the first and fifth vessel, named CORAL STRAIT and CADIZ STRAIT, respectively. This is Carsten Rehder's first project in India.
On 1 July 2024, GRSE received another $21 million order for a 800-tonne Advanced Ocean-Going Tug from the Bangladesh Navy. The tugboat will be delivered within 24 months of signing the contract. The tugboat is expected to measure 61 meters in length, about 15.80 meters in width and have a draught of nearly 6.80 meters. The order was received a few weeks after receiving an order for a trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD). GRSE also has an order of 6 patrol boats for the Bangladesh's Department of Fisheries.
During September 2025, the shipyard was constructing 26 commercial vessels, of which nine are meant for export.
On 19 September 2025, Germany's Carsten Rehder placed another order for four Hybrid Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs). The contract, worth $62.44 million was signed in Hamburg, Germany and includes an Option Agreement for two more vessels. These Hybrid MPVs will have similar dimensions and cargo capabilities as in the CORAL 7500 DWT MPV series except for the these MPVs will feature battery-assisted hybrid propulsion system with enhanced fuel efficiency. The design will be in line with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) decarbonisation targets. This contract expanded the project to 12 vessels making it the largest commercial shipbuilding order ever secured by GRSE. The fourth keel was laid on 30 August 2026.
Scientific vessels Among scientific ships, GRSE builds oceanographic, hydrographic and marine acoustic research vessels.