The decision to ink the multi-million dollar deal to purchase decommissioned Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov was taken after a mere “visual examination” of the ship in “as is condition”, the Indian Navy has admitted.

The Navy said in a reply dated September 22, 2009, on a Right to Information (RTI) request that it went ahead with the deal based on the “thought” that repairs would make the ship sea-worthy.

But it was only after the “equipment was opened up” later for a “detailed examination of hull structures, systems, cabling, etc” that the Navy found that entire replacements and not repairs were necessary for the carrier.

“As per the contract signed in January 2004, the original package was drawn up based on visual examination in as-is condition wherein it was found that the majority of the equipment, systems could be repaired while the electronic equipment could be renewed,” Vice-Admiral S P S Cheema with the Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy), wrote in his RTI reply.

He went on to say that later “on opening up the equipment for a detailed examination and survey of the state of the hull structures, systems, cabling, etc, it emerged that these could not be repaired and hence would have to be replaced with new ones”.

“These additionalities have resulted in the increase in project costs,” the Vice-Admiral said in his response to RTI applicant S C Aggarwal.

“Russian side has been intimated that the cost revision now proposed by them is final and no further additional ties will be accepted for negotiation. The same has been accepted by the Russian side,” he said, adding that the revised delivery date of the ship is in December 2012.

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