The aircraft carrier Viraat set sail for the last time, to Gujarat, where it will be broken down (Archive)
Mumbai:
The decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Viraat set sail for the last time today, en route to Alang in Gujarat, where it will be scrapped and sold for scrap.
For the Navy veterans who saw tugboats being towed to the massive vessel, their throats tightened as they waved excitedly from the Gateway of India.
The former Navy ship Viraat began its final journey from the naval shipyard where it was docked after being decommissioned in March 2017.
A Navy helicopter hovering overhead provided a majestic backdrop for Viraat’s latest trip from his base of operations for more than three decades.
A defense spokesman said ‘Viraat’ was due to leave for Alang on Friday, but his departure was delayed by one day.
The ship had served the Indian Navy for 30 years before being decommissioned. She had served in the UK Royal Navy as HMS Hermes and appointed INS Viraat after being admitted to the Indian Navy.
देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा।
तथा देहान्तरप्राप्तिर्धीरस्तत्र न मुह्यति ।।… the Spirit lives on pic.twitter.com/RaAuCVPjGM
– SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) September 19, 2020
There were attempts to turn ‘Viraat’ into a museum or restaurant, but none of the plans came to fruition.
Alang-based Shree Ram Group won the tender to dismantle the ship. The company’s high-capacity tugs are towing the ship to Alang and it would take two days to complete the trip, an official said.
Alang, a coastal city, is home to the world’s largest ship breaking yard.
“#Viraat Callsign” Romeo Two Two “- End of an era, a glorious chapter in @indiannavy’s story. She leaves #Mumbai today for her last voyage. Old ships never die, her spirit lives on,” PRO tweeted Defense Mumbai.
Many social media users lamented the failure of successive governments to preserve Viraat and another Vikrant aircraft carrier as maritime museums to represent India’s rich naval heritage, rather than allowing them to decompose and be sold for scrap.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated channel.)
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