MUMBAI, Feb 8 (NNN-PTI) – India will move 100 million tonnes of coastal cargo in the next five years, through the coastal shipping route, from the present two million tonnes, an official from the shipping ministry said.
“The linkage of inland waterways to coastal waterways is essential, by embarking on shifting major project cargo from rail and road to inland waterways,” Director General of Shipping, Amitabh Kumar, told a conference.
The country has 1,429 vessels registered under the Merchant Shipping Act, of which over 900 vessels are operating along coastal routes.
Flagging out the issue facing the coastal shipping industry, Kumar said, even if the cargoes are available, the routes are not financially viable. “There is enough produce available in the hinterland to fill thousands and thousands of ships. What we lack in India is a good agglomeration service for small producers,” he said.
India has a coastline of 7,516.6 km, including 1,197 km of touching the various islands, apart from inland waterways.
“A few years back we had only five waterways, now we have 111, which is a huge jump,” said Amit Prasad, chairperson of Inland Waterways Authority of India.– NNN-PTI
