INS Viraat’s anchor to be part of Port Museum?

KOCHI: If everything goes as per plan, anchors of the Indian Navy’s decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Viraat will soon be displayed at the Port Museum in Alappuzha. The Muziris Heritage Project is developing the museum on a 10-acre plot. A portion of the museum will be dedicated to the Indian Navy. “We have discussed with the Gujarat-based company which is breaking up INS Viraat, and reached an agreement on the price for the anchors. If our attempts turn successful, two anchors of INS Viraat weighing around eight tonnes each will be on display at the museum,” said Muziris Heritage Project MD P M Nowshad. 

The aircraft carrier was commissioned as HMS Hermes in 1959. After India bought the ship in 1987, it was renamed INS Viraat, and it underwent several refitments at Cochin Shipyard. Even though there were attempts to preserve the ship as a museum, but none succeeded. In July 2020, the Centre decided to dismantle the aircraft carrier. 

The Muziris Heritage Project has also held discussions with the Indian Navy to display decommissioned missiles, equipment, documents, and photographs at the museum. “Last month, the Indian Navy provided us with a decommissioned fast boat. We are planning to approach the Navy for the recently decommissioned destroyer INS Rajput as well,” he said.