NCC cadets of the State got an opportunity to embark on the mighty 28,000-tonne aircraft carrier of Indian Navy, INS Viraat. The ship commanded by Captain Puneet Chadha is presently anchored off the Paradip Port after participating in the international fleet review in Visakhapatnam.
The naval officer in charge, Odisha Commodore Rakesh Kumar Dahiya also embarked the ship.
The cadets witnessed the naval way of life onboard. This is a maiden visit for Viraat at Paradip and being her farewell voyage. Subsequently, the ship would proceed to Kakinada and Chennai which would be her last ports of call in the Bay of Bengal prior to proceeding to Mumbai for further deployment.
INS Viraat has been serving the Indian Navy since last 28 years. She had earlier served the Royal Indian Navy as HMS Hermes for 27 years making it the oldest operational aircraft carrier in the world with a total of 56 years in operational service as “mother” of the fleet.