Viraat, the oldest warship in the world which was decommissioned by the Indian Navy 3 years ago
Ahmedabad:
The new owner of the disused warship INS Viraat has demanded Rs 100 crore from a Mumbai-based company that is making last-minute efforts to prevent the dismantling of the warship and convert it into a museum.
INS Viraat, the aircraft carrier which was inducted into the Indian Navy in 1987 and decommissioned in 2017, was purchased by Shree Ram Group for a sum of Rs 38.54 crore at a July auction of this year.
The warship, a symbol of India’s rich maritime heritage, reached the Alang shipbreaking yard on the Gujarat coast last week.
Since the vessel was purchased as scrap metal at an auction, future buyers should also obtain a Defense Ministry No Objection Certificate (NOC) to purchase the vessel now, the chairman of the Shree Ram group, Mukesh Patel, at the Press Trust of Inida news agency. Thursday.
“I bought this warship just out of love for my country. Now a Mumbai-based company wants to convert it into a museum. As they are also doing it out of patriotism, I agreed to sell the ship to them, “he said.
“But, they have to get NOCs from the Defense Ministry first, otherwise I can’t resell the ship,” he said.
Mr Patel also said he first asked for Rs 125 crore and then agreed to sell it for Rs 100 crore, considering the company’s cause to be noble.
Mr Patel also said it was a limited-time offer and that he would only wait until next week.
“I am told that the company concerned is doing its best to get the NOC. But I cannot wait forever. I will wait another week. After that I will start the dismantling process,” he added.
VK Sharma, Managing Director of Envitech Marine Consultants Pvt Ltd, has expressed interest in purchasing the warship.
He had previously expressed his confidence to obtain an NOC of the Center so that the INS Viraat could be converted into a museum.
Mr. Sharma had claimed to have received the support of the Goan government in this patriotic endeavor.
“We are doing our best to get the NOC and are confident that we will get it soon. I had personally met Mukeshbhai and we both agreed on the price of the vessel,” said Mr Sharma.
The Viraat, the world‘s oldest warship that was decommissioned by the Indian Navy three years ago, arrived in Alang in Gujarat from Mumbai last week to be dismantled.
It is the second aircraft carrier to be destroyed in India. In 2014, INS Vikrant was dismantled in Mumbai.
The 70-year-old aircraft carrier, in its previous avatar, had won the Falklands War against Argentina in 1982 for the Royal British Navy.
She weighs around 27,800 tonnes and served the British Navy as HMS Hermes from November 1959 to April 1984 and, after refurbishment, entered service with the Indian Navy in 1987.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
