INS Shakti ( A57 ) INS " Shakti " ( A57 ) is a currently in service with the Indian Navy . She was built by Fincantieri , an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste . She is the second and final ship of her class . " Shakti " , along with her predecessor " Deepak , is one of the largest ships of the Indian Navy . Construction of the vessel began in November 2009 and it was launched in October 2010 . She was handed over to India by September 2011 and was commissioned on October 1 , 2011 . The construction of the vessel was completed in a record time of 27 months , after the contract worth was signed in April 2008 . INS " Shakti " can refuel four ships at a time , with a fueling speed of 1 , 500 tonnes per hour while her predecessors had a speed of 300 per hour . She is also equipped with state - of - the art electronics , medical facilities and storage spaces . According to Admiral Nirmal Verma , " Shakti " would significantly add to the Indian Navy ' s ability to conduct and sustain operations distant from the coast . Design and description . General Characteristics and propulsion . INS " Shakti " has a length of overall , a beam of and a draft of . The ships displaces about at full load . The complement is about 200 , including 20 officers . The ship is powered by two MAN diesel engines providing a total power of . This allows the ship to reach a maximum speed of and an endurance of at . To help prevent accidental oil spills the ship features a double hull configuration , in compliance with MARPOL 73 / 78 . Capacity . The Deepak - class tanker can carry 17 , 900 tonnes of cargo , including 15 , 500 tonnes of liquid cargo ( water , ship and aircraft fuel ) and 500 tonnes of solid cargo ( victuals and ammunition ) . The modern cargo handling facility on board the ship enables transfer of heavy solid cargo via a 30 tonne capacity deck crane , and simultaneous fueling of multiple ships at sea , and can refuel at the rate of 1 , 500 tonnes per hour . Workshop facilities on the ship can support other ships of the fleet and it is capable of supporting heavy helicopters . Self defence systems . The ship has self - defence capability and is equipped with an indigenous anti - missile defence chaff system . On - board systems include fully automatic engine controls , power management and battle damage control systems . According to the navy , the ship was designed to operate as a command platform . The ship is fitted with 4 AK - 630 Close - in weapon system s , which can fire at a rate of 4000 to 10 , 000 rounds a minute . Construction and service . Fincantieri was awarded the contract to construct " Shakti " in April 2008 , at a cost of US $ 300 million . The Deepak class tankers were the first warships constructed for India by Fincantieri . The construction of the ship began in November 2009 at Fincantieri ' s Sestri Ponente shipyard in Italy . The sea trials started in December 2010 . The ship was formally handed over to the Indian Navy on September 23 , 2011 , in under two years . Admiral Nirmal Verma , the chief of the Naval Staff , commissioned the tanker at Visakhapatnam , the home of the Eastern Naval Command , saying that the ship enhanced the reach of the navy well beyond the limits of the Indian Ocean . INS " Shakti " is the third tanker of the same name of the navy . The first " Shakti " had a displacement of 3 , 000 tonnes and was first commissioned during World War 2 . She was in service with the Indian Navy from 29 January 1954 and decommissioned on 31 December 1967 ; whilst the second " Shakti " , a large ship built by a German yard , was commissioned on 21 February 1976 and decommissioned on 21 July 2007 , after more than 31 years of naval service . Service history . 2012 . Malabar 2012 . In April 2012 , " Shakti " took part in the Indian navy ' s annual maritime exercise with the US Navy , Malabar 2012 , in the Bay of Bengal . During these exercises , the ship replenished USS Carl Vinson , flag ship of the U . S . Navy ' s Carrier Strike Group 1 . South China Sea and the North West Pacific . In May 2012 , " Shakti " , as part of a battle group of four ships , began a sustained operational deployment to the South China Sea and the North West Pacific Ocean . The other three ships were INS Rana , a Rajput class guided missile destroyer , INS Shivalik , a stealth frigate , and INS Karmuk , a Kora class corvette . This battle group was under the command of Rear Admiral P Ajit Kumar , Flag Officer Commanding , Eastern Naval Command . According to the Ministry of Defence , the two - month deployment , far from India ' s usual area of operations , along with naval exercises with a number of countries , aimed to demonstrate the Indian navy ' s operational reach . During the deployment , the battle group participated in passage exercises with the navies of the countries visited . The ' Passage Exercises ' focussed on maritime security cooperation , which included humanitarian aid and disaster relief ( HADR ) operations and ' Visit , Board , Search and Seizure ' ( VBSS ) drills for anti - piracy operations . These exercises aimed to increase naval inter - operability , enabling the two navies to function with enhanced coordination during possible HADR operations . In addition , during the port visits , the Fleet Commander along with the Commanding Officers of the ships met high - ranking officials of the navy , state administration , port management , coastal security organization , police , and other stakeholders of maritime security in the countries visited , to share professional experiences and exchange best practices in areas of mutual interest . JIMEX 2012 . The ship was deployed in the $ 3 for JIMEX 2012 ( Japan - India Maritime Exercise ) with the four ship group , and took part in India ' s first bi - lateral maritime exercise with Japan . The Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force ( JMSDF ) was represented by two destroyers , one maritime patrol aircraft and a helicopter . The four ships entered Tokyo on 5 June 2012 after visiting Singapore , Vietnam , Philippines and Republic of Korea . They stayed in Tokyo for 3 days . This visit coincided with the commemoration of 60 years of diplomatic relations between India and Japan . Vice Admiral Anil Chopra , Flag Officer Commanding - in - Chief Eastern Naval Command also visited Tokyo to witness the first JIMEX . Southeast Asia . After the deployment in the North pacific , the battle group was deployed in the South China Sea . As part of India ' s " Look East " policy , the ships visited the Shanghai port on 13 June 2012 , for a five - day goodwill tour . INS " Shakti " served as the fuel and logistics tanker to the three destroyers . The ships left the port on June 17 , 2012 . Before leaving the port , the ships conducted routine passage exercise with the People ' s Liberation Army Navy . After the visits to Singapore , Vietnam , Philippines , Japan , South Korea and China , the ships visited Port Klang , Malaysia . This was the last port call of the battle group , after which it returned to the Eastern fleet of the Indian Navy , after being on a two - month - long deployment which started in May 2012 . 2013 . TROPEX 2013 . " Shakti " was part of a seven - ship fleet which represented the Eastern Naval Command at Indian Navy ' s annual TROPEX exercise , which concluded on 1 March 2013 . TROPEX 2013 was a month - long theater level exercise which was conducted off India ' s west coast . The navy conducted manoeuvres , weapon firings and tactical evaluation . The other ships in the flotilla were the destroyer INS Rana ( D52 ) , amphibious dock INS Jalashwa ( L41 ) , corvettes INS Kulish ( P63 ) , INS Karmuk ( P64 ) and INS Sukanya ( P50 ) , and it was led by INS Ranvijay ( D55 ) under the command of Admiral Ajith Kumar P , Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet . This flotilla made a port call at Kochi on 4 March 2013 , on route to its forward deployment . South China Sea and Western Pacific . The ship was part of a four - vessel fleet on a regular operational deployment to the South China Sea and the Western Pacific during May – June 2013 , which departed from India on 20 May 2013 . The fleet led by Rear Admiral Ajit Kumar consisted of stealth frigate INS " Satpura " , Rajput - class destroyer INS " Ranvijay " , corvette INS " Kirch " and " Shakti " , and carried more than 800 crew members . " Shakti " , along with " Ranvijay " sailed from Port Blair , Andaman and Nicobar on May 21 and were joined by " Satpura " and " Kirch " , which arrived from Singapore after participating in a maritime exhibition and a bilateral naval exercise . The ships made a five - day port call at Malaysia ' s Port Klang on 25 May 2013 . The ships will conduct passage exercises and practice both conventional wartime drills and cooperative military action against unconventional sea threats with the Malaysian Navy . They will make further port calls at Da Nang in Vietnam and Manila in the Philippines . They are expected to return to India by June 2013 . The fleet would be deployed in the South China Sea and the Western Pacific from mid - May to end June to reinforce military ties with ASEAN , in addition to showcasing India ' s naval capabilities .