India Puts INS Vikrant on Auction

Indian Defense Ministry is going to put INS Vikrant, a decommissioned aircraft carrier, on auction, according to the Firstpost.com.

The decision was driven by the Maharashtra government’s inability to finance the ship’s maintenance.

India purchased the INS Vikrant from the United Kingdom in 1957. Upon her completion in 1961, she was commissioned as the first aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy.

After a distinguished service, she was decommissioned in January 1997. She has since been preserved as a maritime museum in Cuffe Parade, Mumbai.

She is the only World War II-era British-built aircraft carrier to be preserved as a museum.

If anyone wanted to convert INS Vikrant into a museum, Indian Navy would extend help, Chief of Western Naval command said.

[mappress]
Naval Today Staff, December 04, 2013