INS Viraat Cannot Be Reassembled Now Says Alang Based Shipbreaking Firm

Nearly impossible to reassemble INS Viraat now, says ship-breaker. India’s decommissioned aircraft carrier ship INS Viraat is slated to be dismantled but the country apex court has issued a stay order against it.

Status Quo Ordered

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ordered a status quo on the subject. However, the shipbreaker assigned with the task of dismantling it has revealed that the ship is beyond repair and any attempts at restoration will be futile.

Mukesh Patel, the Chairman of Shree Ram Group which is based in Alang, the biggest ship-breaking yard in the world, bought INS Viraat back in July. He purchased the ship for a whopping 38 crore rupees and started breaking it down by December 2020.

Representation Image – INS Viraat – Credits: wikimedia.org / Indian Navy

40% Ship Broken Down

At present 40% of the ship has been dismantled so a possibility of reassembling the cut out portions has been ruled out.

Reacting to the Supreme Court’s order Mr Patel said, “Over 40 per cent of dismantling work is complete. We have already pulled the ship towards the shore and also dismantled some portions of the hull, making it impossible for the ship to remain afloat now”.

Can’t Be Converted To A Museum

Patel further revealed that he hasn’t received any court notice regarding the matter but their legal team will submit their reply once they receive the notice. The ship is beyond the use for any purpose, he added.

INS Viraat have been in the Indian Navy for 3 decades. It was decommissioned 4 years ago in March 2017. A firm has filed a plea urging to convert it into a museum and the Supreme court bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde ordered the status quo based on that.

The Government decided to send it to the scrapyard back in July 2019. The decision was taken after consulting the Indian Navy.

Reference: ndtv.com

Source: Maritime Shipping News