President Patil addresses sailors on board INS Viraat

MUMBAI - President Pratibha Patil Wednesday experienced her first “day at sea” as she stepped aboard the country’s lone aircraft carrier INS Viraat and addressed its officers and sailors.

The president, who is the supreme commander of the country’s armed forces and the first woman in the post, boarded the vessel around 11 a.m.

Wearing a white-bordered deep blue sari, Patil was flown in a helicopter to the warship, which is anchored off Mumbai.

In her address, Patil said that the Indian Navy has to act in greater synergy with other agencies to prevent a 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in future.

The president also lauded the successful anti-piracy operations of the Indian Navy in the Gulf of Aden.

Patil also inspected the warship, which in November rejoined the fleet at its home base in Mumbai after a year-long refurbishment at Visakhapatnam.

During her nearly three-hour visit to the aircraft carrier, which completed 50 years of service earlier this year, the president witnessed flypasts by the navy’s Sea Harrier jets and Sea King helicopters.

Patil’s sojourn on INS Viraat came after she became the first woman to fly in an Indian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30 MKI combat jet on Nov 25.

The Indian Navy will stage a Fleet Review for the president next year. This is conducted once during the tenure of every president.

The 28,000-tonne INS Viraat, a Centaur class aircraft carrier, was originally commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Hermes on Nov 18, 1959. The Indian Navy acquired the platform in 1987 after it had served the Royal Navy for nearly 28 years.

INS Viraat is pivotal to projecting India’s naval and air power beyond the country’s borders. It can embark up to 18 combat aircraft and is capable of supporting amphibious operations and conducting anti-submarine warfare.