New Delhi (The Stellar News): Making a start on Sunday a U.S. Navy ship, Charles Drew, arrived in India for carrying out repairs and allied services at Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) Shipyard at Kattupalli, Chennai.
“This is the first ever repair of a U.S. Navy ship in India. The U.S. Navy had awarded a contract to L&T’s Shipyard at Kattupalli for undertaking maintenance of the ship. The event signifies the capabilities of Indian shipyards in the global ship repairing market,” a Defence Ministry statement said.
Member of the Executive Council and Advisor to the CEO of L&T for Defence and Smart Technologies J.D. Patil said that the Marine Sealift Command of the U.S. Navy had undertaken rigorous evaluation of select shipyards in India and cleared L&T for undertaking repairs on their vessels which he said was “a recognition for the modern infrastructure at the shipyard built to global standards.”
At the India-U.S. 2+2 in April, both sides agreed to explore the possibilities of utilising Indian shipyards for the repair and maintenance of ships of the U.S. Maritime Sealift Command to support mid-voyage repair of U.S. Naval ships.
Terming the event a red-letter day for the Indian shipbuilding industry and Indo-U.S. defence relationship, Defence Secretary Dr. Ajay Kumar described the arrival of USNS Charles Drew for repairs as a sign of a maturing Indian shipbuilding industry.
“Today, India has six major shipyards with a turnover of nearly $2 billion. We are making ships not only for our own requirements. We have our own design house capable of making all kinds of state-of-the-art ships. The country’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant is a shining example of the growth of the Indian shipbuilding industry,” he said.
