Admiral clarifies docking of US ship Nimitz at Chennai

Kolkata, June 30 (UNI) Admiral Suresh Mehta today said the docking of the USS Nimitz at Chennai port was a follow-up of a '' procedural regime'' and nothing was wrong about it.

'' We follow certain procedures and docking of the US ship is one of them,'' the Indian Navy chief told a news conference here on his first visit as Admiral to the city.

The Left parties have criticised the Government for allowing the USS Nimitz to dock at Chennai port saying the presence of nuclear-powered vessel would cause danger to the environment.

Replying to a question, the Admiral said that there was no such adverse report of the US ship so far and ''we followed a set procedure in allowing the ship to dock in our area.'' He said the Indian Navy has been conducting joint exercise with many countries, including the US, and the common needs between the nations were taken care of during peacetime.

UNI