First US Navy ship arrives at Kattupalli port for repairs

Chennai, Jul 10 (PTI) USNS Salvor, a Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship arrived at Kattupalli ship building yard near here for repairs under the Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) between India and the US, a senior official of Larsen and Toubro (L&T) said on Monday.

The five-year agreement will see the India’s leading private defence company repair the US vessels, said Arun Ramachandran, executive vice-president and head, L&T.

The Military Sealift Command’s rescue and salvage ship USNS Salvor (T-ARS 52) arrived at L&T Kattupalli shipyard, for voyage repairs on July 9. It is the third US Navy ship visiting the L&T shipyard for voyage repairs, after USNS Charles Drew and USNS Matthew Perry.

The USNS Salvor was welcomed with a ceremony at the shipyard on Monday, and it is the first ship to arrive after the signing of the MSRA.

US Consul General in Chennai Judith Ravin, US Embassy New Delhi’s Office of Defence Cooperation chief Captain Michael L Farmer, senior US Embassy officials, and L&T leadership participated.

“This Master Shipyard Repair Agreement is yet another milestone in our ever-expanding U.S.-India partnership. This historic agreement is a direct outcome of the 2022 US- India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue and demonstrates US’ commitment to utilise repair facilities on a regular basis at the L&T shipyard in Kattupalli,” Ravin said.

This agreement will serve to strengthen the two nations’ strategic partnership and contribute to a free and open Indo-Pacific, she said.