Comments
The Shipping Ministry is trying to tap the World Bank-managed Global Environment Fund (GEF) to promote coastal shipping.
The Ministry is currently working on a slew of measurers, including direct financial support, to encourage transport of goods locally by sea utilising the country’s vast coastline. The objective is to decongest roads and reduce the overall transport cost, said an official associated with preparation of the plans.
Shipping Secretary Vishwapati Trivedi told stakeholders of coastal shipping on Monday that the Ministry proposes to raise funds from GEF to partly finance the development plans for the sector.
Coastal shipping seems eligible for GEF funding as it is considered the most eco-friendly and fuel-efficient mode of transport, said a Shipping Ministry official.
Studies have shown that cost of movement of goods by waterways is 50 per cent lower than by road and 30 per cent cheaper than by rail. Besides, waterways are safer and can carry large-size parcels.
Based on the feedback from the stakeholders, the Ministry is expected to wrap up a package for coastal shipping by the time the new government assumes power in Delhi, said an industry representative who attended the Monday meeting.
Besides financial assistance, the incentive would include priority berthing facility for coastal ships at the government-owned major ports. Currently, they will have to wait for berths as ocean-going vessels get the priority.
Coastal ship operators have been seeking dedicated berths at major ports as it will help them ensure faster service and timely delivery of goods.
“Getting a berth on time is a major issue hurting the coastal service now. Dedicated facilities at all major ports will help attract more cargo to coastal service and reduce the burden on roads,” said SK Shahi of SKS Logistics, a leading coastal service operator.
Another positive is that leading users like Tata Steel and SAIL (who also attended the Ministry-convened meeting) agreed to offer guaranteed cargo, enabling ship-owners to deploy dedicated vessels on long-term basis, said another coastal ship operator.
Despite huge potential, coastal shipping currently accounts for only seven percent of the domestic freight.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.