India, Oct. 6 -- The Indian Navy's first Fleet Support Ship entered the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched it at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) in Visakhapatnam.

On his first visit to the shipyard, Singh also laid the keel of the fifth ship of the class and inaugurated an upgraded slipway and a 300-tonne crane.

"With the upgraded Slipway and 300-tonne Goliath Crane, HSL is ready to build larger, more complex ships," Singh told the gathering. "The launch of FSS-1 and keel laying of FSS-5 show Aatmanirbharta taking shape in steel, extending our Navy's reach across the Indian Ocean."

A ship that keeps other ships at sea

FSS-1 is the first of five Fleet Support Ships that HSL is building for the Navy....