KOLKATA: Hooghly Cochin Shipyard Limited (HCSL) has achieved a significant milestone in India’s indigenous shipbuilding and green mobility initiatives with the successful launch of the sixth 50-passenger hybrid-electric catamaran named MV Major Dhyanchand being built for the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). The latest launch marks the completion of the launch of all six vessels in the series.
The vessel was launched by Smt. Nitha K., Assistant General Manager, Hooghly CSL, in the presence of the CEO of Hooghly CSL, the Director of IWAI (Kolkata), Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) surveyors, IWAI representatives, and senior officials and employees of HCSL.
The successful launch of all six vessels underscores HCSL’s shipbuilding capabilities, engineering expertise and commitment to delivering modern vessels designed to support sustainable inland water transport. The achievement also reflects the coordinated efforts of HCSL’s workforce and project partners throughout the vessel construction programme.
Hybrid-electric propulsion technology offers the potential to reduce dependence on conventional fuels and lower emissions, supporting the broader transition towards environmentally responsible waterborne transportation. The development of these passenger catamarans is aligned with India’s efforts to strengthen inland waterways as an efficient and sustainable mode of passenger mobility.
With all six catamarans now successfully launched, Hooghly Cochin Shipyard has taken another important step in its contribution to the development of greener vessels for India’s inland waterways sector.
The milestone reinforces the growing role of domestic shipbuilding expertise in supporting modernisation, sustainable mobility and the long-term development of the country’s inland water transport infrastructure.
