A U.S. Navy rescue and salvage ship USNS Salvor entered Larsen & Toubro shipyard at Kattupalli near Chennai on Sunday becoming the third ship to come to India for repairs as the two countries look to scale this up significantly as the U.S. is keen to make India a hub for its ship repairs in the region. It is also the first ship to arrive since the signing of the five-year Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) between the U.S. Navy and L&T on Monday.
“This MSRA is yet another milestone in our ever-expanding U.S.-India partnership. This historic agreement is a direct outcome of the 2022 U.S.-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue and demonstrates U.S. commitment to utilize repair facilities on a regular basis at the L&T shipyard in Kattupalli. This agreement will serve to strengthen our two nations’ strategic partnership and contribute to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Judith Ravin, the U.S. Consul-General in Chennai at a ceremony. L&T has earlier undertaken voyage Repairs of Marine Sealift Command (MSC) Fleet Support Ships – USNS Charles Drew and USNS Matthew Perry, as reported by The Hindu earlier.
