Coastal shipping may gain if Kerala bans road movement of heavy containers

The move to ban transport of heavy containers by road is expected to give a fresh boost to coastal shipping in Kerala, say trade bodies.

The State Ports department has asked the Transport Department to explore the possibility of banning the movement of heavy container trucks and tankers, carrying inflammable goods on roads during peak hours. The decision to decongest the highway between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargodeis challenging due to lack of infrastructure and available resources, industry experts said.

To take advantage of the situation, the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry suggested the government to utilise the existing coastal shipping as well as inland water transport facilities for cargo movement to begin with.

CS Kartha, Chamber President, said containers are already being carried from Kollam to Kochi Port by specially designed vessels under the new River-Sea Rules. However, the quantities currently being carried do not make this a viable business proposition. The volume may improve once the shippers know the cost advantage in moving container by sea.

The coastal or river sea route is already available in Kochi with the introduction of India’s first Roll on–Roll off double ended ferry project to take container traffic off the already heavily congested city roads. However, this service at present operates at less than 30 per cent capacity due to lower container traffic.

With the extension of this ferry service right from Kundanoor to the entrance of the container road at Kalamassery, the most heavily congested sections of the highway between Kundanoor and Edapally would be reduced considerably. If the Transport Department makes it mandatory, all heavy cargo vehicles such as car carriers, various tanker lorries etc even can be moved through Ro-Ro service.

However, it is important to open bypasses at Kollam and Alappuzha and moving containers through river-sea transportation combined with the usage of Ro-Ro ferry in Kochi. This would definitely give a dramatic change in the traffic patterns in the 125-km stretch between Kollam and Kalamassery.

The Government had even declared ₹1 as an operational incentive for moving either a tonne of cargo or a person along the coastal sea route for one kilometre. The idea is to move at least 20 per cent of the cargo now carried through road and rail via sea by 2020.