he Cochin Shipyard clinched a record of sorts on Wednesday when it undocked the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant after completing structural work; launched fast patrol vessel Arnvesh for the Coast Guard; and laid the keel for yet another FPV.
“It has become a matter of routine for the yard to do these things. The FPVs are delivered well ahead of schedule,” said Commodore (retd) K. Subramaniam, chairman and managing director of the yard. Arnvesh is the 16{+t}{+h}of the 20 FPVs the yard is building for the Coast Guard
The undocking of Vikrant was the most eagerly awaited occurrence.
“It went off successfully, without any glitch,” he added.
Traffic on the Vikrant-Venduruthy Bridge across the Kochi channel came to a halt as motorists pulled up to catch a glimpse of the behemoth as it was pulled out of the drydock by tugs by 2 pm.
The dock had already been flooded to the desired level and after the dock gate was opened, the tugs began to gently pull the massive vessel, weighing over 26,000 tonnes now minus the ballast.
The stern of the ship, dotted with flags around the flight deck, came into view first, as a naval Chetak helicopter hovered closely over clicking images of the most prestigious vessel under construction for the Navy which will bear the pennant no. R 44 when it finally gets inducted a few years from now.
Once out of the dock, the 262-metre long vessel dwarfed all the ships around it — the ones at the naval quay across the channel and those undergoing repair at the shipyard. Eventually, the carrier was docked along the yard for remaining outfitting work, with the ski jump facing the sea.
Now that the vessel is afloat, alignment of underwater equipment fitted on it will be done.
