An Indian Navy ship set sail to Kuwait on Tuesday to ferry liquid oxygen-filled cryogenic containers to meet the high demand for the life saving gas in the country following a spike in coronavirus cases.

As part of Operation Samudra Sethu II, INS Shardul, a Landing Ship Tank of the Southern Naval Command, based in Kochi, was deployed for bringing large oxygen containers from abroad, a Defence spokeperson here said.

The amphibious ship, which is the first of the Shardul class, is designed to carry tanks, trucks and troops.

Several ships of the Indian Navy have been pressed into service as part of the initiative to augment ongoing national mission 'Oxygen Express'.

INS Shardul had earlier played a key role in Operation Samudra Setu, where she had participated in the repatriation of Indian citizens stranded in foreign countries in 2020, the spokesman said in a release.