<span style="color: #222222;">Decommissioned aircraft carrier Viraat today set sail for the last time, on the way to Alang in Gujarat from Mumbai, where it will be broken down and sold as scrap. The Navy veterans who watched the huge vessel being towed by tug boats bade it an emotional farewell from the Gateway of India.</span><br />” <span style="color: #222222;">&nbsp;</span><br />” <span style="color: #222222;">Viraat began its final journey from the Naval dockyard in Mumbai, where it was berthed after being decommissioned in March 2017. A Defence Spokesman&nbsp;said, Viraat&nbsp;was to leave for Alang on Friday, but its departure was delayed by a day.</span><br />” <span style="color: #222222;">&nbsp;</span><br />” <span style="color: #222222;">The vessel had served the Indian Navy for 30 years before being decommissioned. It had served in the UK's Royal Navy as HMS Hermes and named INS Viraat after being inducted in the Indian Navy. Alang-based Shree Ram Group has won the bid for dismantling the ship. An official said the company's high capacity tugs are towing the vessel to Alang and it would take two days to complete the journey.</span><br />” <span style="color: #222222;">&nbsp;</span><br />” <span style="color: #222222;">Alang, a beach town, houses the world's biggest ship breaking yard. On departure of ‘Viraat’, PRO, Defence in Mumbai tweeted that it was the end of an era, a glorious chapter in the history of @indiannavy. He said ‘Old ships never die, their spirit lives on’.</span><br />” &nbsp;