Clearing the tough competition from the other maritime states of India, Andhra Pradesh has reportedly secured the clearance of Indian Navy to berth its prestigious aircraft carrier INS Viraat as a museum on it coast after it becomes decommissioned in the year 2016.
INS Viraat is a massive aircraft carrier as well as flagship of the Indian Navy which is the oldest carrier in service. It is one of the two aircraft carriers of India operating in the Indian Ocean Region. It was commissioned in the year 1959 as the Royal Navy's HMS Hermes and was shipped to India in the year 1987.
Andhra Pradesh already has the prestigious INS Kursura
Andhra Pradesh already has the prestigious INS Kursura, a submarine museum which was berthed at Visakhapatnam and now sources say the addition of INS Viraat would add another feather in the cap for the residuary state. AP chief minister Chandrababu Naidu had intensely lobbied for AP to get the ship after it is decommissioned.
The state government will decide whether it would be locating the floating museum either in Visakhapatnam or Kakinada. The museum will reportedly be operated by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) and use this museum as a Centre for meeting, incentives, conferencing as well as exhibitions (MICE). Naidu successfully achieved the same when AP got hold of INS Kursura submarine in the year 2001 from Indian Navy.
