Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL)

HSL is India's oldest shipyard (founded 1941) and is now a Miniratna Category-I defence PSU specialising in submarine refits, DSRV-mothership construction, naval shipbuilding and repair. HSL completed

defenceindia-oemOperationalTier A
Country: IN

Last verified:

At a Glance

Headquarters
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India (East Coast)
Type
Company (listed)
Founded
21 June 1941 (as Scindia Shipyard by Seth Walchand Hirachand; renamed Hindustan Shipyard 1964; transferred from Ministry of Shipping to Ministry of Defence 2010)
India entity
null
Listed
Not listed — Miniratna Category-I CPSE under Ministry of Defence (Mini-Ratna status granted Oct 2025)
Key India role
HSL is India's oldest shipyard (founded 1941) and is now a Miniratna Category-I defence PSU specialising in submarine refits, DSRV-mothership construction, naval shipbuilding and repair. HSL completed
indicators
[]
key specs
[]

What It Is

HSL is India's oldest shipyard (founded 1941) and is now a Miniratna Category-I defence PSU specialising in submarine refits, DSRV-mothership construction, naval shipbuilding and repair. HSL completed the fastest-ever normal refit of an EKM-class (Kilo) submarine on 21 Jul 2025 — INS Sindhukirti refit (Mar 2023 MoD contract) including modification and testing of escape hatches for the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle. HSL built and delivered INS Nistar (first DSV, Jul 19, 2025) and INS Nipun (second DSV, Jul 30, 2026) — the DSVs serve as mother ships for the Indian Navy's DSRV deep-submergence rescue system. HSL is in talks with the Vietnam People's Navy for Kilo-class submarine refits (Aug 2025).

Sources: [1][2][3][4][5]

Deployments & Procurement

4 documented India deployment(s)/procurement(s).

AgencyContextYearQuantity / NoteSources
Indian NavyFastest-ever refit of EKM-class submarine (INS Sindhukirti)Jul 21, 20251 Kilo-class sub refit[1][2][3]
Indian NavyINS Nistar (1st DSV) inductionJul 19, 20251[1][2][3]
Indian NavyINS Nipun (2nd DSV) deliveryJul 30, 20261[1][2][3]
Vietnam People's Navy (potential export)HSL in talks for Kilo-class submarine refitsAug 2025n/a (under negotiation)[1][2][3]

Import Dependencies

Not analysed in this dossier.

Intelligence Assessment

Methodology: /research/methodology/

India footprint
Documented/5

10 sources with India-specific evidence.

Sources: [1][2][3][4]

Indigenous content
Not disclosed/5

Indigenous percentage not publicly verified.

Sources: [1][2][3]

Operational status
Operational/5

Based on latest public sources as of 2026-08-30.

Sources: [1][2][3]

Source quality
Medium/5

1 official, 8 credible sources.

Sources: [1][2][3]

FAQ

When was HSL founded?

See the dossier sources above for details.

Sources: [1][2][3]

When was HSL granted Miniratna status?

See the dossier sources above for details.

Sources: [1][2][3]

What was HSL's June/July 2025 milestone with the EKM-class submarine?

HSL completed the fastest-ever normal refit of an EKM-class (Kilo) submarine on 21 Jul 2025 — INS Sindhukirti refit (Mar 2023 MoD contract) including modification and testing of escape hatches for the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle.

Sources: [1][2][3]

What are the names of the two Diving Support Vessels (DSVs) built by HSL?

HSL built and delivered INS Nistar (first DSV, Jul 19, 2025) and INS Nipun (second DSV, Jul 30, 2026) — the DSVs serve as mother ships for the Indian Navy's DSRV deep-submergence rescue system.

Sources: [1][2][3]

Which foreign navy is in talks with HSL for Kilo-class submarine refits?

HSL is in talks with the Vietnam People's Navy for Kilo-class submarine refits (Aug 2025).

Sources: [1][2][3]

Open Questions

  • Import-dependency table not published on the listing; component-level analysis pending.
  • Re-verify “status” against primary Indian sources (MoD/PIB/DRDO/OEM) next cycle.

Sources

  1. src-01Indicative
    https://hslvizag.in
    HSL Official·accessed 2026-08-30

    Domain root only; demoted to indicative per Atlas source-quality rule.

  2. src-02Credible
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindustan_Shipyard
    Wikipedia·accessed 2026-08-30
  3. src-03Credible
    https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/andhra-pradesh/2025/Oct/15/hindustan-shipyard-in-visakhapatnam-granted-mini-ratna-status-for-consistent-performance
    New Indian Express·Oct 15, 2025·accessed 2026-08-30
  4. src-04Credible
    https://www.eurasiareview.com/16102025-indias-hindustan-shipyard-limited-attains-mini-ratna-status-reinforcing-maritime-self-reliance-analysis
    Eurasia Review·Oct 16, 2025·accessed 2026-08-30
  5. src-05Credible
    https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/hindustan-shipyard-limited-conferred-with-mini-ratna-status/article70162897.ece
    The Hindu·Oct 14, 2025·accessed 2026-08-30
  6. src-06Credible
    https://psuwatch.com/defencewatch/hsl-achieves-milestone-with-fastest-ever-refit-of-ekm-class-submarine-eyes-future-strategic-projects
    PSU Watch·Jul 24, 2025·accessed 2026-08-30
  7. src-07Credible
    https://www.naval-technology.com/news/hsl-refitting-sindhukirti-submarine
    Naval Technology·Mar 14, 2023·accessed 2026-08-30
  8. src-08Credible
    https://idrw.org/hindustan-shipyard-limited-in-talks-with-vietnam-peoples-navy-for-kilo-class-submarine-refits
    IDRW·Aug 3, 2025·accessed 2026-08-30
  9. src-09Official
    https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2292073&reg=48&lang=1&noshow=1
    PIB India·Jul 30, 2026·accessed 2026-08-30
  10. src-09Official
    https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2292073&reg=48&lang=1&noshow=1
    PIB India·accessed
  11. src-10Credible
    https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2025/07/indian-navy-inducts-new-diving-support-vessel-to-serve-as-mothership-for-dsrv
    Naval News·Jul 19, 2025·accessed 2026-08-30
  12. src-atlas-listingIndicative
    Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) — Defence Atlas listing
    Techadyant Labs — Atlas register (own register)·accessed 2026-09-27

    Own register: indicative only, never official per standing evidence rules. All listing-derived figures in this dossier are attributed to this source.

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