US Navy Ship (USNS) Charles Drew arrived at L&T’s Shipyard at Kattupalli, Chennai for undertaking repairs and allied services. This is the first ever repair of a US Navy ship in India. The USNS Charles Drew will be at Kattupalli shipyard for a period of eleven days and undergo repairs in various areas.
This will give a huge boost to ‘Make in India’ & ‘Aatmanirbharta in Defence sector. Ministry of Defence in a statement said that the US Navy had awarded a contract to L&T’s Shipyard at Kattupalli for undertaking maintenance of the ship. The event signifies the capabilities of Indian shipyards in the global ship repairing market. Indian shipyards offer wide ranging and cost-effective ship repair and maintenance services, using advanced maritime technology platforms.
Indian defence exports have seen a massive increase in the last four-five years. Exports, which were worth about 1,500 crore rupees in 2015-16, have now grown by 800 per cent to around 13 thousand crore rupees.