Kochi: INS Viraat, the oldest aircraft carrier in the world, has returned to Kochi, its final destination.
The epochal ship reached Kochi Thursday for the last round of repairs as part of decommissioning refit before its farewell feat.
INS Viraat had left for Kochi from its operational base at western naval command in Mumbai on July 23. The vessel will remain anchored at Cochin shipyard for the next three weeks.
A set of equipment need to be dismantled and portions which pose risk of radiation have to be removed before decommissioning the aircraft carrier. Weapons and mechanical fixture also have to be disembarked. The future utilities of the carrier has not been decided but measures to use it safely after decommissioning have to be taken. The ship was brought to Kochi for carrying out all such works.
Most of the repair works of INS Viraat during its tenure were carried out at Cochin Shipyard. The ship will be escorted back to Mumbai later this year by a fleet of navy vessels.
The legacy of INS Viraat
INS Viraat was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 12 May 1987. The ship operated Sea Harrier (White Tigers - fighter aircraft), Seaking 42B (Harpoons - Anti Submarine helicopters) & Seaking 42C (Commando Carrier helicopters) and Chetak (Angles - SAR helicopter) as her main air elements. The Sea Harrier fleet was also recently decommissioned at Goa in May 2016.
Under the Indian flag, various aircraft have flown more than 22,034 hours from the decks of INS Viraat. She has spent nearly 2,250 days at sea sailing 5,88,288 NM (10,94,215 km).
This implies that Viraat has been at sea for over six years covering the entire globe about 27 times. She played a major role in the Operation Jupiter in 1989 (Indian Peace Keeping operations in Sri Lanka) and Operation Vijay in the year 1999 (Kargil War). The ship has also participated in various international joint exercises like Malabar (with US Navy), Varuna (with French Navy), Naseem-Al-Bahar (with Oman Navy) and has been an integral element of all major naval exercises, the spokesperson added.
The last operational deployment of the ship was for participation in International Fleet Review (IFR-2016) at Visakhapatnam. Having served the country and the Navy for nearly three decades, INS Viraat handed over the mantle of carrier operations to INS Vikramaditya, which was commissioned in the year 2013.
The second aircraft carrier of the country has spent 29 years under the Indian flag and 27 years with the Royal Navy (United Kingdom). The ship holds the Guinness Record for being the oldest serving warship.
INS Viraat is a Centaur-Class Aircraft Carrier and served in the Royal Navy as HMS Hermes, which was the flag ship of Royal Navy during the Falk Lands Campaign of 1982. She is commonly referred to as the 'Grand Old Lady' among Indian Naval Officers and Sailors.
(With agency inputs)