A former member of the European Parliament from Britain has backed the efforts of a trust to save the decommissioned Indian Navy aircraft carrier INS Viraat.
On December 4, David Campbell Bannerman appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson on behalf of the Hermes Viraat Heritage Trust. Bannerman is a director with the Hermes Viraat Heritage Trust. Interestingly, Bannerman was born in Mumbai.
The Hermes Viraat Heritage Trust was formed to save the INS Viraat, which was known as the HMS Hermes in Royal Navy service. The Hermes served the Royal Navy from 1959 to 1984, acting as the flagship of the Royal Navy fleet in the Falklands War of 1982.
The ship was sold to the Indian Navy in 1987 and served for three decades until being decommissioned in 2017. In late September, the Viraat began her final voyage to a scrapyard in Gujarat after several attempts at preserving her or converting it into a museum or hotel failed.
The Hermes Viraat Heritage Trust decided to approach both Modi and Johnson after news emerged that Johnson could be the chief guest for next year's Republic Day parade.
The Hermes Viraat Heritage Trust noted that if attempts to preserve the ship in India failed, it should be allowed to tow it back to the UK to convert the vessel into a maritime museum. NDTV reported the Hermes Viraat Heritage Trust wants to convert the ship into a maritime museum in Liverpool.
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The trust had been working with Envitech to convert the Viraat into a museum in Goa. The ministry of defence turned down a proposal from Envitech to preserve the ship. Envitech has indicated it could approach the Supreme Court over the issue. The ship is currently owned by the Shree Ram shipbreakers company, which has sought a no-objection certificate to sell it.
Bannerman has previously backed efforts to preserve the Viraat. Bannerman had sought to preserve another British aircraft carrier, the HMS Illustrious, from the scrapyard and turn it into a memorial for the Falklands war. However, the Illustrious was broken up in 2017.
