The TAIS consortium, in partnership with HSL, won the Indian Ministry of Defence’s tender to design and build five FSVs (also known as Fleet Support Ship – FSS) for the Indian Navy in May 2019, but the contract was significantly delayed for cost and political reasons, including the Indian authorities’ dissatisfaction with Turkey’s active military and technical cooperation with Pakistan. Prior to the selection of the Turkish TAIS project, HSL offered the Indian Navy to build FSVs in partnership with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), but eventually the HHI proposal was rejected by the Indian authorities for cost reasons.
The value of the contract signed back in February is 160 billion rupees (about $2.1 billion). The supply vessels will be built by HSL with the assistance of Turkish shipyards. The TAIS consortium includes Turkish shipbuilding companies Anadolu Shipyard (ADiK, lead developer of the project), Istanbul Shipyard, Sedef Shipyard and Selah Shipyard. The construction of the first FSV is to begin at HSL in Visakhapatnam at the end of 2020 with the delivery to the Indian fleet in 2024, with the remaining four units to be delivered at 10-month intervals.
