Kochi: The Navy will have to make do without an aircraft carrier at least till August, when the ageing INS Viraat is expected back in active service after a periodic refit lasting nearly 10 months.
The carrier is now doing trials off Kochi following a Rs. 70-crore refit at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) during which its underwater surface was restored and hull painted. It is set to head for Mumbai by mid-March for further docking at the Naval Dockyard for repairs to its auxiliary equipment, propulsion, boilers and air conditioning which will take another five months for completion.
“The refit will see the ship through another three years, with sporadic maintenance,” said a Navy official. “However, one cannot predict how long it will last in service as it is linked to several other factors,” he added, hinting at the long-delayed acquisition of INS Vikramaditya, formerly Russian carrier Admiral Gorshkov, whose boilers broke down during pre-delivery trials in Russia in June last.
08/03/13 The Hindu
