Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (MS)
Mangaluru, Oct 24: First ever Roll-on Roll-off, Naval Ro-Ro of India, started in October 2015 at New Mangalore Port is closed now due to various reasons.
New Mangalore Port had the pride of starting this service between Mangaluru and Hajira of Gujarat with the prime intention of shipping new cars and trucks laden with cargo.
Naval Ro-Ro is very popular in Japan. Link Shipping of Mumbai had procured 'Maria', a vessel that had the facility of Ro-Ro on it.
“It was due to the pressure of the Government that Link Shipping procured the 20-year-old vessel 'Maria'. The cost of one trip was around Rs.40 lacs. In the beginning the revenue generated was a meagre Rs.10 lacs which went up to Rs.20 lacs due to which the company incurred huge losses,” said Gabriel, manager of Alvares & Thomas shipping company of Mangaluru.
In addition, the lacklustre attitude of the truck drivers also contributed to the poor viability of this facility. They can make extra money on road trips which cannot be done on Naval Ro-Ro.
Railway Ro-Ro that runs between Suratkal of Mangaluru and Kolad of Maharashtra is popular now. This is more frequent and takes less time for the cargo to reach Gujarat. According to the concerned officials of Naval Ro-Ro, it would have been better if there were two vessels starting simultaneously from Mangaluru and Hajira.
It is an irony that at the time when the first naval Ro-Ro is taken off service at Mangaluru, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated naval Ro-Ro in Gujarat.