A day in life of the largest Indian warship –INS Viraat

(As India’s lone aircraft career completes 25 years in service, the Defence Express gets on board to give you a peep into the life onboard the largest warship of the country.)

Onboard INS Viraat: She is the largest warship of the country and has just completed 25 years of service in the Indian Navy. The leviathan with Pennant Number R-22 giving its exclusive identity is the lone floating runway in the country enabling the force to destroy an enemy capability before it becomes a threat.  

INS Viraat or erstwhile HMS Hermes that won the Falkland wars for the UK joined Indian Navy in 1987. The Indian Navy had shown interest in the floating deck carrier as the Royal Navy was about to decommission it. Today 25 years and two complete refurbishments later she is still fighting fit or as its crew call it - “role worthy”.

An important pillar of Indian naval aviation, the Sea Harriers – the White Tigers – are operating from Viraat’s fly deck. Indian Navy is the only force in the world presently operating these British-built fighter jets capable of carrying out vertical take-off and landing from the 743 feet long and 90 feet wide runway that just looks like a speck in the ocean.

Viraat, literally meaning a “Giant”, true to its size is has nearly 1200 crew members and can operate nearly 20 aircraft and helicopters at one time. This 13-storey warship is akin to an Indian city with innumerable compartments and alleys. It makes its own water, has got a kitchen making gourmet food, four gyms, big hospital, state-of-the-art operation theatre and even has the country’s only floating ATM. It has a huge library with thousands of books and DVDs. A daily newspaper - Viraat Times - gets published on board.

A particular day the warship begins at sharp 6.15 am with “hands call” when bed tea reaches the cabins of the sailors and officers. Thereafter as at 6.30 am a bugler sounds and makes an announcement – “All personnel to be on deck for PT” nearly 260 sailors fall in line on the Fly Deck.

After an hour of vigorous physical workout as the sun rose in the Arabian Sea, the sailors got ready for an action-packed day. Before they set out on their respective duties it is the duty of Master Chief Petty Officer Balram Debnath to make sure that these seamen get sumptuous breakfast even hundreds of miles away from the shore. For the sailors majority of whom are below 25, this is one of the most satisfying moment of the day.

To feed everybody he wakes up at 4 am and at times 2 am if the menu is “hard” to prepare. Cooks working in the “Galley” as the kitchen on Viraat is known as are capable of making finger licking Thai and Chinese food. As the temperature soars owing to the deep frying pans and tandoors, these sailors work hard to get the food ready on time. “We are very strict we have to give breakfast at 6.30 am and lunch at sharp 11.15 am no matter whether the ship is sailing or not,” Debanath said with a pride he is responsible for three meals of 1148 people.

Their life has been made easier by the Chapati-maker that has been installed on the ship during its year-long refurbishment in 2009. The indigenous chapatti-maker can churn out around 8,000 chapatis in an hour. The ship’s in-house bakery makes fresh cakes and pastries. The ship sails with a ration enough to feed its crew for two months.

As Debranath was explaining his work Mast Chief Officer Avatar Singh Rawat looked on. Rawat was part of the crew as Leading Shipmen sailing the aircraft carrier from UK to India in Bombay. After serving on the ship for six years, Rawat was transferred only to come back after she had undergone two major life extending refitments. Reminiscing the days spent on the ship, Rawat says: “Rajiv Gandhi had come to receive the ship off Goa. Anybody who came on board the ship felt lost as it is too big.”

Ask what has changed after a quarter of century has passed in the life of the ship, he replies: “Now we even get television signals even at sea.” The living conditions have changed remarkably with congested rooms giving way to swanky ones with open spaces and easy to maintain flooring. With immense experience in operating a Giant ship like Viraat, Rawat is now the eyes and ears of the Executive Officer of the ship and keeps a watch on the functioning of others.

Accompanying him we reach the place from where the ship unleashes its anchors and were amazed to see a rooster roaming around. It is the “celebrity” on the ship with a dedicated sailor to look after him. As per the Indian Navy traditions after having won the prestigious Pulling Boat Regatta the warship has won the rooster trophy and the right to have the rooster as the pet. “While the rolling trophy will go to the winning ship and the team worth its salt will get the privilege to pet the rooster,” said Rawat.

The warship has got a Nuclear Biological Chemical Disaster Headquarters. It keeps a tab of the 361 fire sensors and 298 flood sensors. In case of a nuclear attack the headquarters will swing into action and all the sailors will go into “shelter stations” protected against these attacks.

Routinely the Operations Room of Viraat is constantly scanning the Arabian Sea for any probable threats. In the aftermath of 26/11 exposing the lacunae in coastal security, the Operations Room is constantly collating the picture in the maritime domain - looking out for aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle – and is sending feeds to Maritime Operation Centre on shore and the Naval War room in Delhi.

“Ships eyes and ears are its weapons and radars. From 1987 to now Viraat has got the best of radars that can pick up the incoming missile at extended ranges and also have electronic warfare system. Its best weapons are its aircraft equipped with Derby air-to-air missiles and thousand pound bombs. Recently it has also been given self defence capability with installations of Israeli Barak missiles,” informed Commander Manoj Jha, the Executive Officer or the second in command on board the ship.

Brushing aside the assumptions about Viraat’s age, Jha added: “By age she might be old but its potency has become more lethal and it has become more role-worthy. In other words we are moving along with runway with full armada.” Viraat was earlier intended to be in service till 2015 but it is now expected to serve till 2018.

The self sustaining warship has one of the biggest hospitals in the navy equipped with modern diagnostic and critical care equipment. “We have carried out large number of surgeries on board the ship. Mind you it can be a difficult task because of the constant movement,” informed the Principal Medical Officer Surgeon Commander P Pramod, also an aviation medication specialist.

The Dental Centre conducted record number of 360 Root Canal Treatment and 250 dentures in the last one year, literally bringing shining smile on the face of many sailors.

After a day’s hard work, time comes for winding up the things or in naval parlance securing the ship. Before it a “Colour Guard” brings down the Naval Ensign and tricolor with full ceremony. At 5.30 when at harbor people secure the ship and married sailors go home whereas around 60 people remain onboard to conduct various duties. Sailors onboard the warship go to sleep after the “Pipe Down” or the last announcement of the day “Shubh Ratri-Good Night” and the sea lulls the sailors into sleep.