INS VIRAAT

INS VIRAAT

Subject : Defence

Context : INS Viraat, the Navy’s decommissioned aircraft carrier, has become the “private property” of a ship-breaker who has already torn down 40% of its body, chiefly for scrap, the Supreme Court told a private company, that wants to turn the vessel into a maritime museum-cum-adventure centre.

Concept :

• On February 10, the court had ordered a stay on the process of dismantling the ship.
• The carrier was bought by the Gujarat-based Shree Ram Group, a ship-breaking firm, in a bid.
• The 67-year-old iconic warship was towed to the breaking yard after over three decades’ service in the Navy.

INS VIRAAT

• INS Viraat was a Centaur-class aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy.
• INS Viraat was the flagship of the Indian Navy before INS Vikramaditya was commissioned in 2013.
• The ship was completed and commissioned in 1959 as the Royal Navy’s HMS Hermes, and decommissioned in 1984. It was sold to India in 1987.
• INS Viraat was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1987 served till 2016 when it was decommissioned.