INS Viraat sets sail for Gujarat, to be dismantled, sold as scrap

Signalling the end of a glorious era, decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Viraat departed Mumbai harbour on Saturday and set sail for her final voyage to Alang in Gujarat.

With a call sign of Romeo Two Two, she had served the Indian Navy for three decades – a record in itself.

The second Centaur-class aircraft carrier of the country has as INS Viraat spent 30 years under the Indian flag and 27 years as HMS Hermes with the Royal Navy of UK, making it a total of 57 years of operational service and she holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest serving warship.

Also read: INS Viraat to be dismantled at Alang in Gujarat and sold as scrap

The majestic ship would be broken in the ship-breaking yards of Alang, considered the world's largest graveyard of ships.

INS Viraat had been in sea, covering 5,90,000 nautical miles and 22,622 hours of flying operations.

The plan to convert the majestic ship into a museum failed, after which she was auctioned by Metal Scrap Trading Corporation Ltd (MSTC). The Shree Ram Group of Gujarat purchased it for around Rs 38 crore.

At least, three states - Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Goa - had initially evinced interest in the project.

In November 2018, the Maharashtra government cleared an estimate of Rs 852 crore for the ambitious maritime museum project - which was to be located in Sindhudurg district along the coastal Konkan belt of the state. In May, 2019, the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) floated Expressions of Interest (EOI) for converting the ship into an integrated tourism facility and for operating it on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis. However, there were no takers for the project.

Under the Indian Flag, the ship was instrumental during Operation Parakram between India and Pakistan; apart from Sri Lankan Peace Keeping operation. Its last operational deployment was for participation in International Fleet Review in February, 2016.

Facts about INS Viraat:

Viraat has a standard displacement of 23,900 tons and a full-load displacement of 28,700 tons. The total length of the warship is 226.5 meters and the breadth is 48.78 meters.The ship is manned by 150 officers and 1500 sailors.

It was capable of operating Sea Harrier jump jets, a Short Take-off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) fighter aircraft and virtually all types of naval helicopters. The 12-degree ramp on the bows is the most striking visual feature of the ship and it helps to improve the safety factor as well as the radius of operation/payload carrying capacity of Sea Harrier.

With such a complement, the ship is like a mini-city complete with attendant logistics infrastructure libraries, gymnasiums, onboard ATM counter, a TV and video studio. It had a full-fledged hospital and dental centre function onboard to cater to any emergencies.

Unlike other ships, the British-built warships are equipped for comfort and convenience for all on board even in a non-combat mode.

The ship also has laundry, which washes over 800 pairs of uniforms daily, a tailoring and barber’s shop. Medical facilities include a 16-bed sickbay, a dental centre and two fully-equipped operation theatres apart from facilities for blood transfusion, X-ray examination, ECG and a full-fledged pathology laboratory. The sickbay is staffed by a surgeon, an anesthetist, a special aviation medicine centre, a dentist and 10 specialised sailors. The ship’s generator produced nearly 9 MW power – enough to meet power requirements for a small township!

Second aircraft carrier to be scrapped

Viraat is the second aircraft carrier after Vikrant to be sent to the scrapyard.

As far as Vikrant was concerned, in 1957, she was sold to India by the United Kingdom and she was commissioned as INS Vikrant on March 4, 1961. She was decommissioned on January 31, 1997. Multiple efforts to convert her into a museum failed. However, in May 2014, Vikrant moved from the Naval Dockyard to Darukhana, following the Supreme Court order. In November, 2014, Vikrant was scrapped.