Port call by USS Nimitz a landmark event: US

The United States on Monday said the port call by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, which will dock in Chennai in early July, will be a "landmark" event in India-US bilateral relations.

"The first ever port call in India by a US aircraft carrier and a landmark event in US-India bilateral relations," the American embassy in Delhi said in a release.

While docked in Chennai, sailors from USS Nimitz will volunteer in numerous goodwill events in the local community.

The crew members will participate in activities like cleaning local sites, refurbishing buildings and interacting with different members of the community, the release said.

Nimitz is a nuclear-powered multi-mission aircraft carrier that was commissioned into the US Navy in 1975. The super carrier, which reaches more than 23 stories high from the keel to the top of the mast, can carry 90 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, including the F-18 Super Hornet.

It has a flight deck of about 4.5 acres and accommodates over 5,000 crew members on board.

The US and Indian navies have conducted increasingly elaborate joint exercises on high seas over the past several years, regularly cooperating in bilateral and multilateral framework, the release said.

It said that nuclear-powered ships had unique advantages, with an energy source that is safe and reliable.