Nimitz docks off Chennai to 145;build new relations with India146;

United States' nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz anchored four nautical miles off Chennai port at about 6.45 am today amid protests by the Left parties and activists.

United States8217; nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz anchored four nautical miles off Chennai port at about 6.45 am today amid protests by the Left parties and activists. But several of the carrier8217;s 4,600-odd crewmembers immediately started community work in the city 8220;as part of efforts to build new relations with India8221;.

A queue of Nimitz8217;s sailors waited on the 4.5-acre deck of the carrier, waiting for their turn as a vessel ferried about 200 at a time to Chennai on a 40-minute ride across the sea.

8220;This visit is purely a port call with no specific mission other than to help our crew have an experience of Chennai8217;s culture,8221; Rear Admiral John Terence Blake, Commander, Carrier Strike Group 11, told the reporters taken to the carrier. But Blake would say little on the queries about Nimitz8217;s nuclear stockpile. 8220;We do not disclose the presence or absence of nuclear warheads on board Nimitz,8221; he said. 8220;The US policy, however, is that we do not routinely deploy nuclear weapons on board Nimitz.8221;

The Left parties here were not as happy as the commander, however. Protestors led by CPM8217;s Tamil Nadu secretary N Varadarajan and CPI8217;s state secretary D Pandian staged a rally outside the Chennai port, demanding Nimitz to leave India8217;s waters.

US Ambassador to India, David C Mulford, who is in Chennai to interact with the officers and the crew of Nimitz, said: 8220;India is a democracy and everyone is free to express their opinion. This is part of a long, developing process, a deepening of the relationship, with a rising number of joint exercises.8221;

On Nimitz, two nuclear plants below the deck generate power, which is used for every operation on board. Captain Michael C Manazir told reporters that it can hold about 90 aircrafts.

CPM raps Nimitz 8216; misinformation

New Delhi: The CPIM on Monday said the statements from the Defence Ministry and US embassy that there were no nuclear weapons on board USS Nimitz, which is docked near Chennai, are aimed at 8220;misinforming8221; the Indian people. A statement by the party central secretariat pointed out the chief officer of the 8220;naval group comprising USS Nimitz8221; refusing to confirm or deny the presence of nuclear warheads was in conformity with US Navy guidelines. ENS