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| India-Pakistan |
| No more money to be paid to Russia for Gorshkov: Indian Naval Chief |
| 2007-12-04 |
| Chief of the Indian Navy and the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee, Admiral Sureesh Mehta on Monday said that India should not pay more money than initially agreed for the acquisition of the Russian aircraft carrier Gorshkov. Speaking to reporters a day ahead of the Navy Week celebrations, Admiral Mehta said, "We should not pay anything more than what we have committed in the original contract (for the Gorshkov)," adding, "`When we signed the deal, it was fixed-price contract, taking into account all eventualities of retrofitting." India had initially signed the 58 billion rupees (1.5 billion dollars) deal in January 2004, but the cost is expected to rise after India accepted the Russian demand of increasing Rupee-Rouble escalation rate from 2.8 percent as earlier agreed to 5 percent. The 44,570-tonne aircraft carrier was scheduled to be delivered by August 2008, but delays in its delivery have raised severe concerns here, and last week Defence Minister A K Antony said in the Parliament that the "overall progress of repair and re-equipping of the ship is slow." Admiral Mehta today said that said the Indian Navy now owns the aircraft carrier, which has been re-christened as INS Vikramaditya, since New Delhi has already paid more than 400 million dollars for it. He said that the delay is basically due to the Russian Government diverting the trained manpower engaged in the repair work of the aircraft carrier to other shipyards where they are constructing their new ships and submarines. ``It was Gorshkov project which helped Russian shipyards provide jobs when their economy was down. With our money, there has been lot of prosperity in the (Russian) region,`` he said, adding, "But now, sudden oil boom has brought about a lot of prosperity, enabling the Russians to launch new warships and submarines, diverting the workforce.`` Last week, Antony told the Lok Sabha that the Russian side has submitted a revised Master Schedule indicating a delay in the project and they have attributed the delays to "growth of work". Admiral Mehta said that the retrofitting process would take at least two years, and added, "We have to see where our relations are going to with Moscow.`` |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #14 KOMMERSANT < RUSSIAN TANKS HEADED FOR INDIA. Up to 300 upgraded T-90S, but not at once. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-12-04 21:02 |
| #13 “Where is our relationship with Russia going?” the admiral wondered aloud rhetorically. South hopefully.. but pragmatist on both sides will prevail... |
| Posted by: Red Dawg 2007-12-04 14:34 |
| #12 Are ships under construction normally that rusty? yep 3dc.. whenever da ship under construction are rusky! /~:) horribilis.. i knows |
| Posted by: Red Dawg 2007-12-04 14:31 |
| #11 Are ships under construction normally that rusty? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2007-12-04 14:08 |
| #10 Principle No. 1 in Business: Do not f*ck over your clients. They are NOT a captive audience. This could become an opportunity, all right, with the US. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2007-12-04 13:55 |
| #9 Let's not forget the USS Independence and the USS Ranger in Mike's line up of one owner boats. |
| Posted by: USN,Ret. 2007-12-04 13:21 |
| #8 I imagine this experience will be remembered the next time the Russians are trying to sell things to India. You don't mess with paying customers. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-12-04 11:21 |
| #7 The only question is whether the Indian's can learn better from experience than we do. I am optimistic. You won't see them attending a "peace conference" for Kashmir brokered by Dr. Rice any time soon. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-12-04 09:24 |
| #6 Fearless Leader has altered the deal. |
| Posted by: doc 2007-12-04 09:06 |
| #5 the Russian Government diverting the trained manpower engaged in the repair work How very typically Russian (or Chinese). Do something nice for them, and they thank you by giving you the shaft. Such pleasant people. |
| Posted by: gromky 2007-12-04 08:15 |
| #4 Let's see . . . Constellation is laid up in reserve, Kitty Hawk will be decommissioned in the near future, and John F. Kennedy was just decommissioned. Just sayin' is all. |
| Posted by: Mike 2007-12-04 08:05 |
| #3 side view link |
| Posted by: john frum 2007-12-04 05:52 |
| #2 Note that in a few months, a US shipyard refitted the former USS Trenton LPD. It was sold to India for less than 40 million, complete with training for its crew. It is now the second largest warship in the Indian Navy |
| Posted by: john frum 2007-12-04 05:43 |
| #1 This is one unhappy Admiral... “When we took the Gorshkov which the Russians said they were giving free of cost, for just $1 (and for the cost of its refit), it was a sort of partnership. Of course we wanted that ship. We did a very detailed contract. It is a very good contract. When we went over there (to the Sevmash shipyard in Russia where the vessel is being refitted), the shipyard was in a decrepit state. Over the years we have seen how the shipyard has improved with our money... the workforce on the Gorshkov is far less than what we would like it to be,” “Where is our relationship with Russia going?” the admiral wondered aloud rhetorically.  |
| Posted by: john frum 2007-12-04 05:37 |
