SEVERODVINSK. Nov 26 (Interfax-AVN) - The aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, formerly known as the Russian warship Admiral Gorshkov, which was transferred to the Indian Navy on November 16, left the Sevmash enterprise on Tuesday before embarking on a voyage to its permanent base, Sevmash spokesperson Yekaterina Pilikina told Interfax-AVN.
The Vikramaditya left the shipyard at 8:30 a.m., she added.
The aircraft carrier reached the White Sea via the Severodvinsk Canal, Pilikina said.
The ship will soon set anchor in order to stock up on fuel and undergo the required customs procedures. The aircraft carrier will then head to Murmansk, where it will stay for several days, after which it will take more fuel onboard and will head to the Indian coast accompanied by the Indian Navy's tanker and frigate.
It was reported earlier that the date of the Vikramaditya's departure from Sevmash had been moved forward at the request of the vessel's commander, Commodore Suraj Berry.
There are over 180 Russian specialists onboard the Vikramaditya. They are training the Indian crew to operate the ship's equipment and will help repair any possible malfunctions, should they occur. Some of these Russian engineers will leave India as soon as the Vikramaditya arrives at its base, but a group of specialists will stay in India as part of vessel maintenance arrangements.
The itinerary of the Vikramaditya's voyage to India has been confirmed by the country's Navy. The aircraft carrier will make 14 port calls in foreign states. The Indian Navy's destroyer and another frigate will join the Vikramaditya in the Strait of Gibraltar.
A contract with India on the modernization of the Admiral Gorshkov heavy aircraft carrier was signed in 2004. The contract assigned $974 million for reconstruction and modernization of the aircraft carrier and another $530 million for the delivery of 16 Mikoyan MiG-29K fighter jets and seaborne anti-sub helicopters Kamov Ka-31 and Ka-27.