Navy chief meets Antony on sub snag

 Navy Chief Admiral D K Joshi on Monday met Defence Minister A K Antony presumably to brief him on INS Vikramaditya, the latest aircraft carrier acquired by India from Russia.

The carrier had reportedly developed a snag in transit. However, when asked about the issue, a Navy official denied any incident on the high seas. Officials from the defence ministry too claimed that the Navy did not submit any report on this incident.

But, the unscheduled meeting of Joshi with Antony occurs within hours of publication of a media report which claimed one of the eight boilers of the 44,500 tonnes battleship malfunctioned during its 8000 nautical miles (about 14,800 km) journey from Russia to Karwar.

Indian Navy’s biggest asset is powered by 8 steam boilers generating 180,000 horse power of energy.

According to the report, because of the snag the carrier could not reach its top speed. Also the naval tanker INS Deepak once could not carry out refuelling in choppy waters near the Portuguese coast.

The officials, however, clarified refuelling in the high-seas is generally avoided if the sea is rough.

The adverse report on INS Vikramaditya comes ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s planned visit to the aircraft carrier base, which may take place after the Parliament session.

Delivery of the $ 2.33 billion INS Vikramaditya was delayed by a year when a technical fault was found in the insulation system of the boiler during its trial.