New Delhi, Oct 10 (IANS) Russia Wednesday said it would deliver the refurbished aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov to India in the fourth quarter of 2013 and attributed the delay to a malfunction in the boiler of the warship.
India voiced “serious concerns” over the delay, but has decided not to impose any penalty.
Russia also made it clear that the prototype of the fifth generation fighter aircraft will be delivered to India in 2014; its actual production will start in 2020.
Issues related to the delay of Admiral Gorshkov, rechristened INS Vikramaditya by the Indian Navy, figured prominently in the discussions between Defence Minister A.K. Antony and the visiting Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.
“We have detected a malfunction in the boiler and power plant of the ship. We have given the revised schedule of the delivery of the aircraft carrier to the Indian side,” the Russian defense minister told reporters at a joint press conference after the talks.
“We believe it will happen in the fourth quarter of 2013. We need to test everything so that we are sure we are transferring an operarable aircraft carrier of perfect quality,” said Serdyukov.
Serdyukov added that the ship was back in the Russian shipyard of Sevmash and underlined that Russia was hoping to resume sea trials in April “after eliminating all malfunctions”.
Describing India as a “reliable and time-tested friend,” Antony said he conveyed India’s “serious concerns” over the delay in the delivery of the warship.
“I have suggested that all agencies involved in the trial and delivery of the aircraft carrier work overtime to complete the project at the earliest,” the defence minister said.
He added that India was hoping for the delivery “as early as possible.”
Asked whether India would impose a penalty for the delay, Antony said, “We are not discussing these issues right now. We will discuss it at a later stage, if necessary,” indicating that India has decided not to invoke a penalty clause.
According to the reworked contract, the refurbished $2.3 billion carrier was to have been delivered to India by December 4.
The contract stipulates a leeway period of another 3-4 months, failing which India can impose the penalty.
However, given India’s multi-faceted military ties with Russia, India has decided not to invoke the penalty clause.
