India's government-owned Goa Shipyard (GSL) has delivered the last in a series of five pontoons for the Indian Navy's aircraft carrier 'INS Vikramaditya'.
Designed and built in-house, the pontoon was delivered to the Indian Navy two months ahead of schedule in late February.
"The pontoons are intended for mooring and berthing the 40,000 tonne aircraft carrier on a jetty and for providing services alongside the vessel," GSL said in a statement.
Two pontoons have been delivered at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, while another two were received at Naval Base, Karwar. With receipt of the service barge pontoon at Mumbai, the Indian Navy is set to receive the carrier later this year.
"The 40MT pontoons are non-self propelled craft designed to serve as spacers between the berthing structure and the aircraft carrier to absorb the high energy of the aircraft carrier as she comes alongside the pier. They have been designed to be efficiently towed at sea with a streamlined hull form," the statement adds.
'INS Vikramaditya' is a Russian aircraft carrier built at the Black Sea Shipyard, Mykolaiv, Ukraine (erstwhile USSR).
Formerly known as the 'Admiral Gorshkov', the vessel was purchased by India in 2004 and scheduled for delivery in 2008. However, due to a series of upgrades, the delivery was delayed.
The aircraft carrier will be handed over to the Indian Navy in November, 2013, said Alexander Fomin, head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.
J Kanojia
