The dismantling of the Indian Navy's former flagship, Viraat, (ex HMS Hermes) has been kept on hold by the country's Supreme Court, which also issued notice to the company that bought the ship from the government to be made into scrap. The Supreme Court's order comes on a petition by a group that offered to buy the decommissioned carrier and convert it into a museum.
HMS Hermes was laid down in 1944 and was in service with the Royal Navy between 1959 to 1984 serving as the flagship during the Falklands War in 1982. She was sold to the Indian Navy in 1987 and renamed INS Viraat.
A technology entrepreneur is looking to raise around £15m to save the Falklands Task Force flagship on which he once served from the possibility of scrap, and is looking to celebrities and the public to help him out on his mission, according to channelweb.co.uk Falklands flagship HMS Hermes was decommissioned last month and is heading towards the scrap heap.
Aircraft carrier from Portsmouth that fought in the Falklands War is making her final journey before being decommissioned after almost 60 years of active service. HMS Hermes served with distinction in the conflict against Argentina in 1982 before being sold to the Indian Navy and renamed INS Viraat.