USS Nimitz absolutely safe: Indian Navy

Chennai, June 30: The Indian Navy today made very clear the docking of USS Nimitz at the port here was absolutely safe as ten foreign nuclear warships had already berthed at Indian ports, including the French aircraft carrier, Charles De Gaulle, in recent years.

Talking to mediapersons here at Naval Headquarters, Commodore Van Haltron said, ''USS Nimitz is not the first of the nuclear-powered warships in India.'' ''A standard operating procedure has been evolved to clear a harbour for berthing of nuclear vessels since 1988 when INS Chakra was inducted into the Indian Navy,'' he said, adding that''since then, about ten foreign nuclear warships had docked at Indian ports.'' Prior to approving the visit, an environmental saftey committe visited Chennai and carried out detailed survey of the berths with respect to radiation hazards on June 5.

''A stringent radiation monitoring protocol is in place, which will periodically monitor and analyse air and water samples,'' he said, adding that these activities will be conducted under the ambit of a radiation safety contingency plan under the stewardship of a crisis management group and crisis management cell.

UNI