USS Nimitz to dock in Chennai, MoD permitting

[Adux]

USS Nimitz to dock in Chennai, MoD permitting


Pranab Dhal Samanta Posted online: Sunday, June 24, 2007 at 0000 hrs Print Email
NEW DELHI, JUNE 23: In a reflection of the growing trust between defence forces of both countries, the decks are being cleared for the United States to dock one of the world’s largest aircraft carriers USS Nimitz at Chennai in the first week of July. This will be the first time that a US supercarrier will call on an Indian port.



While plans are already afoot from the US side, it’s learnt that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is yet to give its formal approval to the port call by Nimitz, a nuclear-powered carrier. Sources indicated that the clearance is caught in red tape for the moment.

India and US have had elaborate exercise routines on the high seas where some well-known US carriers have participated, but none of these large carriers have docked in India. USS Nimitz had been sent to the Persian Gulf in April and was located near the straits of Hormuz.

In fact, there was concern when USS Nimitz along with USS Stennis of the same class and some other US battleships went past the narrow strait around the time when the IAEA released its report to UN Security Council on the Iran nuclear programme. The presence of these ships had fueled concerns over a possible escalation of the Iran nuclear crisis.

While the exact destination of the Nimitz is not known, it is likely to be in the Indian Ocean region for sometime. According to what has been suggested, the ship will be docked in Chennai for three to four days.

With a flight deck area of 4.5 acres and over 5,500 crew members on board, Nimitz is one of the largest supercarriers in the world. Commissioned in May 1975, the ship is the lead vessel in its class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and can carry close to 85 aircraft and helicopters, including F-18s. There are nine other carriers in the same class.

For both countries, the Nimitz visit would be a significant marker in the changing face of Indo-US defence relations. Four years before the Nimitz was commissioned, another aircraft carrier USS Enterprise was deployed in the Bay of Bengal in a show of solidarity with Pakistan during the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict.

From being seen as a threat to a friendly port call is a journey of change that Washington wants to convey. In fact, several programmes to interact closely with the local population are being planned. It is estimated that the sailors are likely to spend nearly $1.1 million on local purchases during their stay.

India, on the other hand, is being cautious as Nimitz’s recent presence in the Persian Gulf was seen as a major threat. With the Left already critical of India’s stand on the Iran nuclear programme, fingers are crossed that this visit goes off without much fuss.

USS Nimitz

Features

A nuclear-powered

multimission aircraft carrier

• 8 generators, each producing 8,000 MW power, enough to light up a small town

• 80-bed hospital with surgery facilities

• 18 storeys high from keel to top of the mast

• 90-day food storage capacity, 18,000-20,000 meals prepared daily

• Nickname

Old Salt

• Commissioned

May 3, 1975

• Crew

5,680. Ship has 3,200 and Air Wing 2,480

• Homeport

NS San Diego, California

• Length

Overall 333 m

• Range

Essentially unlimited

• Aircraft carried

90 fixed-wing and helicopters

• Current mission

Departed North Island in San Diego on April 2 this year on a six-month deployment in the Arabian Sea

 

[Contrarian]

Who would ever have thought the Nimitz or any of the Supercarriers would be docking in India. Remember 1971!

 

[Adux]

Well the USS Enterprise came in the pretext of Evcuation of US citizens, but its too large ship for that..We can thank Admiral Ghorshkov and his nuke sub for stopping the USN from helping Pakistan

 

[Neo]

US threat a memory as Nimitz sails into Bay of Bengal
27 Jun, 2007 l 0002 hrs ISTlCHIDANAND RAJGHATTA/TIMES NEWS NETWORK


LEADING NUCLEAR CARRIER: An American F-18 aircraft lands onboard the USS Nimitz on Monday, June 4, 2007, in the Persian Gulf, where the Nimitz and the USS John C Stennis aircraft carrier groups are on patrol. ( AP Photo )

WASHINGTON: When the American nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz rounds off the Indian peninsula and heads up Bay of Bengal later this week for an unprecedented port call at Chennai, Indian military historians and long-serving mandarins could be forgiven for a few wry smiles and dry sailorly quips on the occasion.

Just over a quarter century ago, in December 1971, the United States dispatched its then frontline aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to the Bay of Bengal in an effort to intimidate New Delhi, then in the thick of a war with Pakistan. India refused to blink, and an ugly American effort at gunboat diplomacy, engineered by the subsequently disgraced Richard Nixon and his minion Henry Kissinger, passed off without incident.

But it was an affront New Delhi never forgot, although forgiveness came pretty quickly with the healing touch of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. By the early 1980s, one Indian naval officer recalled, the Enterprise threat was already a closed chapter as Indian vessels such as INS Mysore and INS Godavari called at US ports.

However, it was not till the early 2000s with the start of the Malabar series of exercises that the naval ties really warmed up, surpassing similar fraternal ties between the army and air force of the two countries. The turning point, one Indian official said, was a rescue mission off Kochi by the Indian Navy that saved the life of an American soldier.

Ironically, a Sea King chopper used for his evacuation had been subject to US spare parts sanctions.

Following that, the two navies have been exercising together frequently with regular exchange of personnel and port calls by smaller vessels. Still, the visit of USS Nimitz, the leading nuclear carrier and one of the largest in the US Navy, is a quantum leap in this new engagement, officials from both sides acknowledge.

The nuclear-powered American carrier, the first ever to make a port call in India, is a veritable city in itself and should provide a feast for the eyes of naval buffs in Chennai. At 4.5 acres, it is the size of three soccer fields can carry 90 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, including the F-18 "Super Hornet" which the US wants to sell to India. The vessel is 23 floors high from keel to mast and hosts a crew of almost 6000.

Thrice the size of India's lone serving aircraft carrier INS Viraat, and designated a supercarrier, it has a 53-bed hospital ward with six doctors and five dentists. It also has three chaplains, a full time barbershop, and a post office. Nicknamed "Old Salt," its home base is San Diego, but typical of nuclear carriers, it has been at sea for long stretches, with repeated deployments in the Gulf, including in operations against Iraq.

Although India's military establishment is gung-ho about the Nimitz port call, the fact that sections of its political spectrum still carry the baggage of the past slights and ideological reserve is evident from the reaction of Left parties and leftist unions, who have questioned the American visit while sleeping though previous off-port exercises and exchanges. In Chennai, some port workers have also expressed safety concerns.

US officials insist that the nuclear safety record of American nuclear-powered warships is outstanding and there was no cause for concern when it docks outside Chennai. "Nuclear-powered ships have unique advantages, with an energy source that is safe and reliable," the US Embassy in New Delhi said in an obvious bid to allay apprehension from Leftist union workers. "There has never been a nuclear accident in the 56-plus year history of the program."

Officials have also clarified that although Nimitz is a nuclear-powered carrier, it does not carry nuclear weapons.

USS Nimitz will incidentally be in Chennai on July 4, the American Independence Day, while two Indian vessels, the tall ship INS Tarangini and the newly acquired amphibious dock INS Jalashwa will be on US shores in Boston and Norfolk.

Officials said sailors from the USS Nimitz will volunteer in numerous good will events in the local community, such as cleaning local sites, refurbishing buildings, and interacting with different members of the community in Chennai. Unstated, but clearly on the agenda, are also efforts to heal the 1971 abrasion.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...into_Bay_of_Bengal/rssarticleshow/2152169.cms

 

[A.Rahman]

Move to scare China.

 

[blitz]

India is forming a loose bloc with the US/Australia/Japan, even as we speak. Might not look too obvious at first glance, but connect the dots and you will see the pattern. The aim is to bottle up China within the Taiwan straits. The understanding seems to be that the Indian Ocean will be India's sphere of influence, Japan will be the buffer in the Pacific, and Australia will share influence with India in south east asia.

Some might say its a folly by India to ally with the US. Some might say its a good move. I believe that India is playing its cards perfectly. India gets to maintain de-facto control of the Indian Ocean, while the USN, JN and the RAN will bottle up the PLAN. Win-win situation.

 

[joey]

There is no bloc here, This is a goodwill visit and happens everywhere.

I doubt the one who claims to be move to scare China, is properly acknowledged with Indian naval visits.

On the other hand, would be a good boost to local economy, Chennai is increasing its port capacity which will make it divert ships that used to previously visit Singapore.


as usual the left are crying houl and foul, the treachrous communists at its best.

 

[joey]

bluitz your correct about playing cards, so far I think if not best we are doing ok.

Japan is investing big time in India, as they say Japanese hardware and Indian software.

The Aussies are always too much bothered about Indias defence, we care two hoots about them.