Ports Ministry constitutes high level committee on Ro Ro services in Gujarat and Maharashtra

The Ports and Shipping Ministry has constituted high level committee under Chairman of Kandla Port Gujarat to draft revised guidelines for operationalisation of Ro Ro and Ro Pax service operated exclusively in Gujarat and Maharashtra for the past few years.

The Committee would simultaneously draft Model Concession Agreement for Ro-Ro / Ro-Pax Terminal Operator and Model License Agreement for Operation of Ro-Ro/ Ro-Pax/ Fast Passenger Ferry

Ministry has operationalized Ro-Pax Ferry service between Ghogha – Hazira in Gujarat and Mumbai – Mandwa in Maharashtra. These services have transported more than 24.15 lakh passengers and 4.58 lakh cars and 36.3 thousand trucks, contributing towards clean environment and public welfare.

The service is not available in any other state of the country according to industry sources

While underlining the importance of this step the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping Sarbananda Sonowal said “The proposed committee will formulate and streamline the future Roadmap of Ro-Pax Ferry development in the Country and implement schemes for harnessing the waterways and integrating them with the economic development of the country

Ministry of Ports, Shipping had prepared and circulated ‘Draft Guidelines for operationalization of Ro-Ro and Ro-Pax ferry service along the coast of India’ in June 2022 for stakeholder consultation, in order to standardize and streamline the development and operation of the service.

The Government has proposed that Coastal shipping will be promoted as the energy efficient and lower cost mode of transport, both for passengers and freight, through PPP mode with viability gap funding which is in line with country’s focus on Green Growth in the union budget 2023-24

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping has pushed a number of reforms and initiatives in the maritime industry to strengthen socio-economic and regulatory environment in certain parts of the country. One of the key initiatives of the Ministry is to promote and develop Ro-Ro (Roll-on, Roll-off) ferry transportation ecosystem which when compared to traditional modes of transportation, offers a number of advantages, such as shorter trip distances, lower logistics cost and less pollution.