Indian state-run defense shipbuilders Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) and Goa Shipyard Ltd are capitalizing on a surge in global shipbuilding demand, securing significant commercial export orders as ship construction slots in top shipbuilding nations like China, South Korea, and Japan are fully booked until at least 2028. This situation has prompted fleet owners to seek alternative destinations, including India. Kolkata-based and Mumbai-listed warship builder GRSE announced it had secured an export order worth approximately $54 million from Germany?s Carsten Rehder Schiffsmakler and Reederei GmbH & Co. KG. The order involves the construction of four multipurpose vessels, each capable of carrying 7,500 metric tonnes (mt) of cargo. The contract includes options for building four additional ships. The vessels, measuring 120 meters in length and 17 meters in width with a maximum draft of 6.75 meters, will feature a single cargo hold to accommodate bulk, general, and project cargoes. Containers will be transported on hatch covers, and the ships will be specifically designed to carry multiple large windmill blades on deck. On June 13, Belgium-based dredging company Jan De Nul Group placed an order with Goa Shipyard to construct a next-generation trailing suction hopper dredger. Although the order's value remains undisclosed, the vessel is a plug-in hybrid designed for operation in small harbors. With a 79-meter hull length, it will be the smallest in Jan De Nul Group?s hopper fleet, featuring a hopper capacity of 2,000 cubic meters. The contract includes an option for constructing a second sister vessel. ?So far, Goa Shipyard has exported defense platforms to various countries and has emerged as the largest exporter of defense platforms from India. This prestigious deal with a European client is a significant step to diversify into the global commercial shipbuilding market,? said Chairman and Managing Director B K Upadhyay. Jan Van de Velde, Director of New Building at Jan De Nul Group, praised the new vessel's design, stating, It?s a small hopper with big capabilities, tailor-made to perform in small harbors, agile and flexible. As a DC hybrid plug-in, the vessel is highly innovative, with a big potential to reduce carbon footprint.