Indian Navy warns of nuke threat from sea, starts building new aircraft carrier

INDIA: Indian Navy Wednesday warned of a potential nuclear threat from the sea route in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks which exposed the vulnerability of the country’s coastline last November.

Indian Navy chief Admiral Suresh Mehta also confirmed that India will start building a second aircraft carrier at the end of this month with its home-made technology, equipment and materials.

At the inauguration of a seminar organized by the National Maritime Foundation in the capital of New Delhi on Wednesday, Admiral Mehta said, “Nuclear weapons may be smuggled into India in a cargo container.”

“Today, 70-75 percent of global cargo is containerized. It is acknowledged that the container is the most likely means for terrorist organizations to illegally transport a nuclear weapon and, hence, there is a serious concern about container security,” Admiral Mehta said.

He also asked for more stringent measures to scan thoroughly all the containers coming into India to ensure 100 percent security.

“Ten terrorists used sea route to stage a high-profile attack upon Mumbai last November, killing at least 173 and wounding over 300.

The navy chief also called for closer coordination among the country’s navy, coast guard and port authorities, such as setting up “control rooms” in the eastern and western naval commands.

“These (control rooms) are the measures we propose for greater coordination that a joint operation center functions from eastern and western command,” he said.

The Indian government has recently decided to establish a coast command to strengthen what it called “grassroot” security at the country’s long coastlines.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy chief confirmed news reports on Wednesday that the country will formally lay the keel of a home- made aircraft carrier at the end of this month.

India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier will be in the waters by 2011 after a two year construction, Admiral Mehta said.

“Our indigenous aircraft carrier is being constructed in Kochi (southern India). It has been three years since the work started. On Feb. 28, what we call keel laying of the carrier will take place,” he said.

Local daily The Tribune reported on Wednesday that the 40,000 ton displacement vessel will be several times the capacity of naval worships that India has built so far. “And with this, India will join a select band of NATO countries and Russia, which possesses the capability to build aircraft carrier,” said the news report.

The navy chief said the building of a ship can be divided into seven phases: design, construction planning, work prior to keel laying, ship erection, launching, final outfitting, and sea trials.

He said many of the parts of the aircraft carrier have already been constructed and his estimation is that “it should be in the water in two years” with an estimated cost of 30 billion rupees ( 620 million U.S. dollars).

The Indian Navy has only one aircraft carrier, the INS Viraat.

The Indian military expects to have three aircraft carriers by 2015 to own a true blue water navy.

The Tribune said the carrier will have a crew of 1,400 officers and sailors and carry 30 aircraft in a mix of the MiG-29K, the Dhruv advanced light helicopter and the Kamov-31 Helix anti- submarine warfare helicopter.

New Delhi, Thursday, Xinhua