NEW DELHI: A major fire broke out onboard the country’s solitary aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, which was undergoing sea trials after an 18-month refit-cum-maintenance off Karwar, on Wednesday evening.
“During a planned sortie for conduct of trials at sea, an incident of fire was reported on board INS Vikramaditya. The fire was brought under control by the warship’s crew using fire-fighting systems. No casualties have been reported. A board of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the incident,” the Navy said in a brief statement late on Wednesday night.
A minor fire had also taken place on board the 45,400-tonne warship during the refit-cum-maintenance phase when she was docked at the Karwar naval base in coastal Karnataka in May last year.
INS Vikramaditya, or the refurbished Admiral Gorshkov, was inducted by the Indian Navy in November 2013 under a $2.33 billion deal with Russia. With the 45 MiG-29Ks acquired for another $2 billion to operate from its deck, the aircraft carrier is the costliest single weapon platform India has ever bought.
The latest incident comes ahead of the commissioning of the 40,000-tonne indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) as INS Vikrant next month. The Navy is now fast-tracking its case for acquisition of at least 24-26 supersonic fighters to operate from its sprawling deck on the high seas, with the battle being between the French Rafale-M and the American F/A-18 in what will be a multi-billion dollar government-to-government deal.