KOCHI: Infrastructure constraints and a busy shipping channel are playing spoilsport to plans to introduce a bigger Ro-Ro (roll on roll off) vessel on the Fort Kochi-Vypeen route, even as passengers have been demanding an enhancement of commuting facilities either through additional services or larger vessels.
Two Ro-Ro ferries are operating shuttle services on the route. Though a third Ro-Ro ferry was inaugurated earlier this year, it has stayed ashore despite Kochi corporation’s announcement to make it operational soon.
It is learnt that the corporation is still in talks with the Kochi Water Metro to hand over the Ro-Ro services, currently run by the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC), which is being cited as the reason for the delay in pressing the third Ro-Ro into service.
Meanwhile, demands have risen to study the feasibility of launching a bigger Ro-Ro ferry, citing the increasing volume of vehicles. Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden had asked the authorities to explore the option of using hybrid-mode large ferry services, like electric ferries or other eco-friendly options, sticking to international standards.
“Though KSINC had submitted a report regarding the feasibility of launching a big Ro-Ro vessel on the Fort Kochi-Vypeen route, we had also urged the government to take the opinion of all stakeholders involved in the matter, especially Kochi corporation and the Cochin Port,” an official with KSINC said.
According to the data with KSINC, the Ro-Ro vessels in operation on the Fort Kochi-Vypeen route are 27 metres long, 8.5 metres wide and have a draft of 1.8 metres.
The services carry an average of 5,000 to 5,100 passengers and 5,300 to 5,400 vehicles through multiple services per day. In addition, one Ro-Ro vessel has been operational on the Bolgatty-Willingdon Island route for carrying containers to the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICCT) at Vallarpadam.
A Ro-Ro ferry with a carrying capacity of 200 vehicles would require a vessel measuring at least 95 to 110 metres in length, 18 to 22 metres in width and having a draft of 2.8 to 3.8 metres.
For such a massive ferry to be operational, the allied infrastructure too needs an upgrade, according to KSINC sources. “Boat jetties are now built in a way that suits smaller ferry services and water metro vessels. To introduce bigger vessels, the boat jetties need to be reconstructed accordingly,” a source pointed out.
What makes the plan more complex is the fact that the route falls within the international shipping channel, which has always been busy with continuous movement of commercial ships, Navy and Coastguard vessels, and dredgers.