Viraat dismantling to take nine more months; 30 pc work over

Around 30 per cent dismantlingwork of Indias decommissioned aircraft carrier Viraat hasbeen completed and the entire vessel would be dismantled innine months, a Gujarat-based ship breaker has said.Mukesh Patel, Chairman of the Shree Ram Group at Alangin Bhavnagar district which bought Viraat at an auction inJuly last year for Rs 38.54 crore, said the firm began thedismantling process in December.The worlds longest serving warship was decommissionedby the Indian Navy four years ago.

Around 30 per cent dismantlingwork of India's decommissioned aircraft carrier 'Viraat' hasbeen completed and the entire vessel would be dismantled innine months, a Gujarat-based ship breaker has said.

Mukesh Patel, Chairman of the Shree Ram Group at Alangin Bhavnagar district which bought Viraat at an auction inJuly last year for Rs 38.54 crore, said the firm began thedismantling process in December.

The world's longest serving warship was decommissionedby the Indian Navy four years ago. It is being dismantled withthe help of around 300 trained workers at one of the plotsowned by ship breaking firm, Patel said.

''We started the dismantling process in December lastyear and hope to finish the task in the next eight to ninemonths. We are following the global norms on eco-friendly shipbreaking,'' he said.

Viraat had reached the Alang ship breaking yard fromMumbai in September.

The centaur-class aircraft carrier was in service withthe Indian Navy for 29 years before being decommissioned inMarch 2017.

There was a campaign on social media to save thewarship and convert it into a maritime heritage museum butnothing came out of it.

The Centre in July 2019 informed the Parliament thatthe decision to scrap Viraat was taken after due consultationwith the Indian Navy.

In a last-ditch effort, Mumbai-based Envitech MarineConsultants had approached Patel to acquire the ship forconverting it into a museum, for which Patel had sought Rs 100crore and an NOC from the Central government for the resale.

''I was ready to sell the ship for converting it into amuseum and even delayed the dismantling for about two months.

But that company could not procure the NOC from the Centre,which is mandatory in such deals,'' said Patel.

At present, the ship is anchored around 300 metres offthe shore and is being cut into pieces using gas cutters andheavy duty cranes. After a significant portion is cut, it willbe pulled ashore next month for further dismantling, he said.

''The ski-jump was cut first when dismantling processbegan. To maintain balance and keep the ship afloat, we thencut apart the back portion and removed some metal from themiddle. Reduction in weight will help pulling it ashore,'' hesaid.

There is no clear estimate about how much metal wouldbe salvaged from the ship, Patel said.

''All the memorabilia and parts like the steering wheelwere removed by the Navy before the ship was handed over tous. Though the engine was there, propellers andshaft wereremoved before we received the possession, which is a standardprocedure,'' he said.

Viraat is the second aircraft carrier to be dismantledin India. In 2014, Vikrant was dismantled in Mumbai.