On Sunday, USNS Charles Drew arrived at Larsen & Turbo Shipyard, Kattupalli. This is a step in furtherance of strengthen the relationship and expanding Indo-US partnership. The ship will undergo many significant change in partnership with the India.
“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 Shipyard at Kattupalli for undertaking maintenance of ship. This displays the meticulous potential of Indian shipyards.
The change however will be done within a period of 10 days of the arrival. Through this practice the agreement is to explore the possibilities of utilizing each other’s shipyards.
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.”
“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.
Dr. Kumar said, the country has seen significant progress in the Indo US Defence relationship in the last couple of years. “In the defence industry cooperation we have seen tremendous amount of traction. India’s defence exports have seen huge increase in the last four to five years. From 2015-2016 to the present, exports have seen a massive growth. Major destination for Indian exports is to the US. This ship building exercise adds a new chapter in the defence exports. This is also a sign of maturing of ship building industry,” he added.
