Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Ltd

Swan Defence & Heavy Industries Limited (SDHI) was initially incorporated as 'Pipavav Ship Dismantling and Engineering Limited' on October 17, 1997. The Company changed the name to Pipavav Shipyard Limited from Pipavav Ship Dismantling and Engineering Limited on April 29, 2005. Further, the name was changed to 'Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering Co Limited' from Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering Co Limited on June 25, 2011 and to 'Reliance Defence & Engineering Limited' on January 18, 2016 and again to 'Reliance Naval & Engineering Limited' on September 12, 2017 and has further changed to 'Swan Defence & Heavy Industries Limited' on January 2, 2025 vide fresh Certificate of Incorporation, issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govt. of India. The Company is the first private sector company in India to obtain the licence and contract to build Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPVs) for the Indian Navy. The Company is mainly engaged in the construction of vessels, repairs and refits of ships and rigs and heavy engineering. It has a large shipbuilding/repair infrastructure in India including the largest Dry Dock in the world. The Shipyard has only modular shipbuilding facility in India with capacity to build fully fabricated and outfitted blocks. The shipyard has pre-erection berth of 980 meter length and 40 meters width and 1 Goliath crane with combined lifting capacity of 600 tonnes, besides outfitting berth length of 780 meters. The fabrication facility has annual capacity of 144,000 tons/year. In October 1998, the Company acquired the ship dismantling business of GPPL, a company originally promoted by SKIL. Also, it was granted a sub-lease by GPPL for the establishment and operation of a ship dismantling, repair and building facility in Pipavav Port during the same period. In April 2005, IL&FS, one of the leading infrastructure finance companies in India, became a shareholder of the company. Government banking institutions EXIM Bank and IDBI also took stakes in the company as well as private fund UTI. In January 2006, the company entered into a Technical Assistance Agreement with SembCorp, in which SembCorp agreed to assist the company in the planning, designing and construction of the Pipavav Shipyard. In September 2006, they entered into a Basic Agreement for Technical Cooperation with KOMAC, in which KOMAC agreed to supply designs and provide technical services for the Company's shipbuilding project. In October 2006, the company entered into a share purchase agreement with Metdist Industries Holdings Ltd, in which E Complex became a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. In November 2006, the company secured the order for construction of four 74,500 DWT Panamax bulk carriers from Golden Ocean Group Ltd. Also, they entered into an agreement with Golden Ocean Group Ltd for the construction of two optional ships. In December 2006, the company secured their second order for of four 74,500 DWT Panamax bulk carriers from SETAF SAS, France. Also, they secured orders for 74,500 DWT Panamax bulk carriers from the AVGI Maritime Services S A. In September 2007, Punj Lloyd Ltd acquired 19.43% of equity shares of the company and became a promoter of the company with an understanding that Punj Lloyd Ltd will carry out their offshore business in India through the company and thereby expand the company's business to include offshore fabrication and construction. Also, several other major financial players became shareholders in the form of foreign equity investors. In January 2008, the company received the approval from the Development Commissioner, Kandla SEZ, for setting up a unit in the SEZ developed by E Complex in villages Rampara and Lunsapur for undertaking authorized operations of manufacturing ships, vessels, hulls and off-shore activities. In February 2008, the company commenced steel cutting for the construction of first four ships. The Company made a public issue of 85,450,225 Equity Shares of Rs 10 each in September, 2009. The company commenced commercial production with effect from April 1, 2009. In June 2009, the company received a notification of award of contract of 12 OSVs from ONGC. In March 2010, Punj Lloyd Ltd sold their entire stake of 19.43% in the company to their co-promoter, SKIL Infrastructure Ltd, for Rs. 656 crore througn an inter-se promoter transfer. In 2010-11, the company received the industrial license to build defence vessels and entered into building of aircraft carrier, frigates, submarines. Since the start of commercial operations in June, 2012, the Company launched five Panamax bulk carriers (Ice Class 74,500 DWT) and three Offshore Supply Vessels. It completed sea trials of three OSVs (Dynamic Position - 1) and four Panamax bulk carriers on the first attempt in 2013. During the year 2012-13, the company entered into Joint Venture with Mazagon Dock Ltd, India's premier defence public sector undertaking. Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company Limited was acquired in January, 2016. The Company was qualified by U.S. Navy as an approved contractor to perform complex repair and alternation services for the U.S. Navy's seventh fleet vessels operating in the region and signed the Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA') with U.S. Navy in 2017. In 2017-18, Company launched the first two Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels at shipyard in Pipavav, Gujarat being constructed for the Indian Navy. The Company delivered a 75,000 DWT Panamax vessel Golden Opal'and completed refit of two naval ship. It launched the largest next generation training ship for Indian Coast Guard (ICG) entirely designed by the Design Bureau of Company in 2019-20. The Company's Shipyard at Pipavav, Gujarat, was certified by the US Navy for servicing of warships from the US Navy's Seventh fleet in 2020. The Company provided dry docking and other services for ONGC's Jack up Rig 'Sagar Ratna' and undocked the same in April 2020. There were no business operations during the year 2023-24, as the Company was under Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) until January 09, 2023 and was under the supervision of Monitoring Committee until January 04, 2024. In FY 2024-25, SDHI completed multiple refit projects for the Indian Coast Guard ahead of schedule, reflecting efficient execution. The Company has converted the shipyard into a fully operational and modern shipbuilding and repair complex that is aligned with nation's defence and maritime objectives.