SOURCE: DHNS
Decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Viraat will be towed from Mumbai to Alang in Gujarat by the end of this month where it will be scrapped in a ship-breaking yard.
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 has purchased it for around Rs 38 crore.
“The firm awarded the scrapping contract is likely to move it this month. They will confirm the exact dates soon,” Indian Navy officials told DH on Thursday.
Once in Alang in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, it would be broken down in one of the biggest ship-breaking yards of the world.
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.
One of the longest-serving warships of the world, INS Viraat had served for 30 years in the Indian Navy and 27 years in the Royal Navy.
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.
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 in 1961 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 Naval Dockyard to Darukhana, following the Supreme Court order. In November, 2014, Vikrant was scrapped.
