Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 11
Indian Navy’s decommissioned aircraft carrier Viraat may be in the middle of a political controversy, but the warship itself awaits a future. It is docked at the Naval yard at Mumbai where a few crores are spent each year on its upkeep, lest it sinks and blocks space in the vital yard.
A decision has to be taken to either convert it into a museum or scrap it like Vikrant, the older carrier.
Vikrant’s scrap was purchased by a leading motorcycle maker, which then recycled the steel to brand the bikes after Vikrant’s name.
INS Viraat was readied for its final days and was given what is called a ‘decommissioning refit’ at the Cochin Shipyard in September 2016. The ship was then towed back to Mumbai for a formal decommissioning ceremony.
In March 2016, the Ministry of Defence asked coastal state governments to convey their firm commitment for preserving Viraat and converting it into an “Aircraft Carrier Museum”.
Some states requested for further information. The liability of maintenance was to be of the state government.
In November last year, the Maharashtra Government okayed a Rs 852-crore plan for Viraat. The ship’s conversion will see it being moored 7 nautical miles off the Nivati rocks in Sindhudurg, a district that abuts Goa.
Till a decision is made, the Navy has deputed its staff and officers to keep a round-the-clock watch on the hull of the 27,000-tonne behemoth, which was built in 1959 and is now 60 years of age. If it sinks, the salvage operations will cost much more than the present cost of upkeep, said a senior official.
- INS Viraat served in British Navy as HMS Hermes (1959-1984)
- After refurbishment, it was commissioned into the Indian Navy
- Purchased for $65 m, it was re-commissioned on May 12, 1987
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/30eYs9O
via Today’s News Headlines
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