GORSHKOV 2LST

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India had also
slammed the Indian Navy for the deal in which it would be
"acquiring, belatedly, a second hand ship with a limited life
span by paying significantly more than what it would have paid
for a new ship."

The report without naming the ship said that it was not
an aircraft carrier but more of a cruiser equipped with a
flight deck which had to be configured for a different type of
service from that of its original design.

"The vendor's shipyard that was to undertake the Repair
and Re-equipping work, had neither repaired ships of this
magnitude nor had any work experience on aircraft carriers,"
the report had said.

Vice-Admiral Cheema refuted the report saying that the
"basis on which the report has arrived such a conclusion is
not known, as per the data available from internet and other
sources, a new carrier of size of Gorshkov, is likely to cost
anything between three and four billion US dollars and that
too understandably without the spares, training,
infrastructure and documentation cost."

He said it is not feasible to buy a new aircraft carrier
commercially off-the shelf.

"It may be noted that with the additional works being
done on the ship, the carrier is almost going to be a new
carrier with a service life equivalent to a new aircraft
carrier," he said. PTI