US Navy's Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship Charles Drew (T-AKE 10) arrived at L&T’s Shipyard at Kattupalli, Chennai, on August 07, 2022, to undertake 11-day-long repairs and allied services. This is the first time a US Navy ship has been repaired in India. The US Navy had awarded a contract for ship maintenance to L&T’s Shipyard in Kattupalli. Indian media considers it a huge boost to ‘Make in India’ & ‘Aatmanirbharta in Defence’.
Indian Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar, Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, Flag Officer Commanding Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area Rear Admiral S Venkat Raman and other senior officials from the Defence ministry visited the shipyard to welcome the vessel.
Dr Ajay Kumar described the arrival of USNS Charles Drew for repairs as a sign of maturing the Indian shipbuilding industry, with the remark that India has six major shipyards with a turnover of nearly $2 billion.
Dry Cargo/Ammunition Ship delivers supplies to customer ships at sea — ammunition, food, repair parts, stores and small quantities of fuel.
