The vessel, which originally carried the name “Baku” and later “Admiral Gorshkov”, has for years strained Russian-Indian military relations following excessive cost overruns and numerous delays. According to the deal signed by the two countries in 2004, the ship was to be reconstructed and ready for takeover in 2008.
That schedule was later postponed to 2012 and then - after the carrier’s boilers were broken during tests in the Barents Sea - to 2013. Similarly, the original cost frame for the reconstruction works has been significantly expanded from $750 million to an estimated $2 billion.
This week, representatives of the Indian Navy officially took over the vessel, which now carries the name “Vikramaditya”. In a ceremony this weekend, the Indian Defence Minister Shri AK Antony officially commissioned the vessel. From the Russian side, the ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, Navy Top Commander Viktor Chirkov, President of the United Shipbuilding Corporation Vladimir Shmakov and Head of the Sevmash yard.
“This is a very important day in Russian-Indian relations”, Deputy PM Rogozin said at the ceremony. “This is a modern military vessel which will become a guarantee for strengthening of peace and security”, he added.
In his speech, Indian Defence Minister Shri AK Antony praised the Sevmash yard for its work. “Sevmash has coped with the task on a highly professional level and we can only congratulate the whole company collective for it successful work”, a press release from Sevmash reads.
The vessel, which now carries the name “Vikramaditya” was originally built in 1987 and operated in the fleet until 1996. The ship is of the socalled Kiev-class. However, according to Sevmash, the comprehensive reconstruction of the ship has turned it into a completely new type of vessel.
