Swan Defence rebuilds Pipavav Shipyard at $250 million; ready for large vessel construction
Workers at Reliance Naval & Engineering Ltd., Pipavav, Gujarat on Wednesday October 24, 2018. This world class Shipyard build New Ship and repair in Pipavav, Gujarat
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Ltd (formerly known as Reliance Naval Engineering Ltd that operated the Pipavav Shipyard in Gujarat) is now fully out of the NCLT, has refurbished the shipyard at a cost of around $250 million, and is ready to build large commercial ships, said Vivek Merchant, Director, SDHI.
“Pipavav Shipyard went in to NCLT in 2020, and the process went on till 2024 with Swan being the successful bidder. It has been about 18 months since we have taken over. After NCLT, all the past history is wiped out. We started with a clean slate,” he told businessline, on the sidelines of the ongoing India Maritime Week 2025 at Mumbai on Tuesday.
“We have refurbished the entire facility, which is spread across 650 acres. We have nearly 30 per cent of India’s capacity at the yard. We have installed new capacity and expanded, and have a new management. We are fully certified and received our green signal from Ministry of Defence. We have been classified by the Coast Guard for ship repairs, and also been assessed by the Indian Navy for war ship building,” he added.
“In ship building, we have just come to the market. We are expecting to have an order book in the next few months. In ship repairs, we are rolling out a few projects. Ship building gives the volume while ship repair gives the margins. In ship repair, we started with simple steel blasting priming, extended it to shafting and rudder and now getting in to engines as well. We are slowly ramping up the ship repair capabilities,” he said.
On foraying into commercial ship building, Merchant said the company can build any type of ship. “Currently, the ships are with ArcelorMittal, and we have good references. We are looking at building different types of ships, including containers, bulkers and chemical tankers, and Defence,” he said.
“We intend to participate in the Government ship building programmes as well. We already have a tie up with Samsung Heavy Industries, and with the Dutch firm Royal IHC for the offshore segment. We have done the back end work,” he said.
The company is home to India’s largest dry dock (662m x 65m) with a capacity of 400,000 Dead Weight Tonne and an annual steel fabrication capacity of 144,000 tonnes.
The shipyard has a dedicated offshore yard (750m x 265m) for fabrication, erection & load out for large platforms, offshore structures, and heavy engineering modules up to 10,000 tonnes, he said.
Published on October 28, 2025
