L to R: U.S. Consul General in Chennai Judith Ravin, U.S. Embassy New Delhi’s Office of Defense Cooperation chief Capt. Michael L. Farmer, USNS Salvor’s captain Capt. Andrew MacLeod, L&T Defense Business Executive Vice President and Head A.T. Ramchandani, and L&T Vice President Ok.S. Nathan onboard USNS Salvor at Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) Kattupalli Shipyard
The Military Sealift Command’s rescue and salvage ship USNS Salvor (T-ARS 52) arrived at Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T Shipyard), in Kattupalli close to Chennai, India, for repairs on Sunday, July 9, 2023. It is the third MSC ship to go to L&T Shipyard for voyage repairs, after USNS Charles Drew and USNS Matthew Perry, however the first to reach for the reason that yard signed a five-year Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) with the U.S. Navy.
The USNS Salvor was welcomed with a ceremony held on the shipyard on Monday, July 10, which was attended by the U.S. Consul General in Chennai Judith Ravin, U.S. Embassy New Delhi’s Office of Defense Cooperation chief Capt. Michael L. Farmer, L&T Defense enterprise govt vp and head A.T. Ramchandani, senior U.S. Embassy officers, and L&T management.
“This Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) is yet another milestone in our ever-expanding U.S.-India partnership,” mentioned Consul General Ravin. “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.”
Commissioned in 1986, the 255-foot USNS Salvor is a is a Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship rescue and salvage ship and is used as a platform to help restoration missions. It is one among solely two rescue and salvage vessels in the MSC inventory and the one ship of its variety within the Far East. It serves as a component of the U.S. Navy’s Combat Logistics Support Force and supplies rescue and salvage companies to the fleet at sea.
The two Safeguard-class vessels are amongst these set to get replaced by the Navy’s new T-ATS towing salvage and rescue ships.
