NSTL holds workshop on ship design

To promote self-reliance and strengthen the indigenous ship design ecosystem with an objective of strengthening India’s indigenous ship design capabilities and fostering collaboration among stakeholders from the Indian Navy, Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), private shipyards, classification societies, and academia, the NSTL in Visakhapatnam organised a ‘ship design workshop’ on 16 October.

R V Hara Prasad, Distinguished Scientist and Director General (Naval Systems and Materials), DRDO, who inaugurated the workshop, highlighted the key role of indigenous ship design and innovation in achieving ‘Atmanirbhar’ in naval systems. He emphasised the need to integrate emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) tools, Digital Twin concepts, meta-materials, and advanced stealth design techniques into future ship design processes.

He also stressed the growing importance of Green Ship Technologies, energy-efficient propulsion systems, and sustainable materials to align naval design with global environmental and operational standards. He further shared his vision for NSTL to evolve as an international leader in ship model testing and evaluation, comparable with leading foreign hydrodynamic research facilities. He emphasised the collaborative efforts across design, testing, and validation domains to make India self-reliant and globally competitive in advanced ship design and hydrodynamic and stealth research.

Rear Admiral Sujit Baxi, Director General (Warship Design Bureau), commended DG (NS&M) and Director, NSTL, for taking an initiative in bringing together all key stakeholders of the national ship design ecosystem on a common platform. He appreciated DRDO’s leadership in driving collaborative innovation and reaffirmed the Navy’s commitment to strengthening indigenous design capabilities in partnership with DRDO, industry, and academia.

In his welcome address, Abraham Varughese, Outstanding Scientist and NSTL Director, outlined the laboratory’s contribution in underwater systems, ship hydrodynamics, and stealth technologies. He noted that the workshop provides a unique platform for dialogue between designers, shipbuilders, classification societies, and academia to identify areas for joint R&D and technological innovation.

More than 100 delegates from the Indian Navy, DPSUs, private shipyards, classification societies, and design houses took part in the workshop.

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This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu