India’s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) held a keely-laying ceremony to mark the start of construction for the second of 12 multipurpose vessels ordered by German shipping line Carsten Rehder.
The largest contract for multipurpose vessels in GRSE’s history, each vessel will have a length of 120 m, a beam of 17 m and a draught of 5.85 m. Designed with project, bulk and general cargo shipments in mind, the ships will have a capacity of 7,500 tonnes. Wind turbine blades can be carried on the vessels’ decks.
Carsten Rehder initially placed an order with GRSE for up to eight multipurpose shortsea vessels in June 2024, before the two firms signed a contract for the construction of two 7,500 dwt multipurpose vessels in March 2025. Then, in September 2025, another contract was signed – this time for four hybrid multipurpose vessels, plus an option for a further two.
