The USS Nimitz, one of the word's largest battleships, was docked two nautical miles (3.7 kilometres) from the city of Chennai in southern Tamil Nadu state, where it will remain until Thursday, a port official said.

A number of Chennai residents will arrive on board later on Monday for celebrations with US sailors ahead of US independence day on July 4, officials from the United States consulate in the city said.

But festivities could be marred by a protest planned by left-wing political parties which say the Congress-led government should not allow a US warship to dock in Indian waters.

"This is a blatant violation of the assurance given at the time of government formation that we will be strictly non-aligned," D Pandian, an official of the state branch of the Communist Party of India.

There was also concern about whether the vessel was carrying nuclear warheads.

But the ship's captain Michael Manazir told reporters on Sunday it was "the general policy of the US government not to deploy nuclear weapons on board its ships."

Some political parties and environmentalists also expressed concern about nuclear radiation from the warship, but US officials called the Nimitz's safety record "outstanding."

A large Muslim party will on Tuesday protest the ship's activities in the Persian Gulf, after the vessel made its first visit to the Middle East in June, where it was "conducting maritime operations and supporting the global war on terrorism," according to the ship's web site.

The Indian government has defended the visit by the 333-metre long warship which has a crew of 5,000, including nuclear reactor engineers, radiation experts and aviators and more than 60 fighter jets on board.

"Port calls by naval ships of friendly countries are a routine activity to promote goodwill amongst the navies," a defence ministry spokesman said in New Delhi ahead of the Nimitz's arrival.

India and the US have stepped up joint military exercises as part of improved ties, which were boosted in 2005 when they set aside Cold War mistrust and signed a historic civilian nuclear energy transfer deal.