Mumbai: RoRo service by December, hovercraft expected by Jan '20

The much-delayed row-on, row-off (RoRo) service between the island city of Mumbai and Raigad district may finally take off later this year. In addition, the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), which is the nodal agency for the project, has also set the ball rolling for a hovercraft service between Mumbai and Thane and Navi Mumbai, which is expected to begin operations by January 2020.

Senior MMB officials said they expected the RoRo service to be launched by December. "The draft agreement is ready... we have asked them (the successful bidder) to get the vessel at the earliest," said Dr Ramaswamy N, chief executive officer (CEO), MMB, adding the agreement with the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) for the use of Ferry Wharf, would also be inked soon. The first vessel, which will be operationalised on the route and cost Rs 50 crore, will be brought from Greece after the agreement is signed. The ship can carry both, cars, buses and passengers.

He added that they would launch the service "as early as possible." The operator will initially induct one ship, and after the service reaches 70% capacity, another vessel will have to be deployed, failing which the MMB can appoint an additional operator.

Ramaswamy said they had also issued a letter of intent (LoI) for a hovercraft service between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, which can be extended to Thane in the second phase. The service is expected to be launched by January 2020. The operator will initially press two vessels into service, and later increase it to four. The hovercrafts will be brought in from Russia.

The east coast water transport project, under which the RoRo service is being launched, is being implemented jointly by the MMB, City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and MbPt with terminals being constructed at Ferry Wharf in Mumbai, Mandwa in Raigad district and Nerul in Navi Mumbai. The Nerul terminal is expected to be completed by March 2020.

It will take just around 35 minutes for passengers to travel from Nerul to Ferry Wharf while Ferry Wharf to Mandwa route will take 20 minutes (compared to around four hours now). With a catchment area of users travelling from Mumbai to Konkan, Navi Mumbai, Raigad and even Goa, it will help commuters save time and money on the stretch compared to road travel. The bidder who had been awarded the tender in 2017 withdrew their bid, after which a second tender was floated. However, the successful bidder could not get a ship for the project and the tender was cancelled. Last year, the MMB floated another tender, which was awarded to Esquire Shipping.