New Delhi: Indian multinational Larsen & Toubro’s Kattupalli Shipyard near Chennai has become a master shipyard for US naval ships, a senior American official has said — a development that comes after the company signed an agreement to meet the repair needs of visiting frontline warships.
L&T signed a five-year Master Shipyard Repair Agreement (MSRA) with the United States Monday, making Kattupalli Shipyard the first master shipyard in India for American naval ships.
In her remarks Monday, US Consul General in Chennai Judith Ravin said the agreement was a direct outcome of the 2022 US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, which spoke about the need to exploit the capabilities of Indian shipyards.
Calling MSRA yet another milestone in the “ever-expanding” US-India partnership, Ravin said: “This agreement will serve to strengthen our two nations’ strategic partnership and contribute to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The agreement is being seen as a major boost for India, with sources in the security establishment telling ThePrint that it demonstrates the US commitment to utilise India’s repair facilities on a regular basis.
“This agreement marks a global recognition of our unmatched capabilities and facilities to undertake quality ship repairs and refits. We are happy to be of service to the US Navy and the Military Sealift Command,” A.T. Ramchandani, executive vice-president & head L&T Defence, said in a statement.
The arrangement seeks to benefit the US by helping it fast-track its contracting processes for repair work, Ravin said in a statement, adding that for India, it helps advance its indigenous production and logistics goals.
As part of the agreement, the USNS Salvor — a ship that conducts salvage, diving, towing, offshore firefighting, heavy-lift operations, and theatre security cooperation missions — arrived Sunday at the shipyard for repairs.
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About MSRA
The MSRA is a ‘legally non-binding arrangement’ between the US Navy and private shipbuilding contractors to pre-approve shipyards to repair US naval vessels, Ravin said
in her remarks.
It involves a rigorous vetting process. “For instance, a contractor must be able to complete 55 percent or more of the work package of a vessel, own facilities, utilise its own shops and workforce, maintain a track record of a safe working environment and be capable of subcontracting to provide adequate oversight of the voyage repair,” Ravin said.
The latest development aligns with the Modi government’s push for defence shipyards as part of its ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
In last December, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India’s defence shipyards had a pivotal role to play in strengthening the country’s Navy and Coast Guard.
“In this era of globalisation, almost all nations are dependent on each other in the field of trade. Hence, rule-based freedom of navigation, security of sea lanes etc. have become more important than ever for stability and economic progress of the world,” he had said after commissioning Indian Navy’s INS Mormugao at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai.
The defence minister had also urged Indian shipyards to take advantage of the government’s initiatives to make the country “an indigenous shipbuilding hub”.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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