Shipping ministry renamed as Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Ministry of Shipping is being expanded and renamed as the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating a Ro-Pax ferry service between Hazira in Surat and Ghogha in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, which will reduce the 370-km road distance between the two places to 90-km by sea route.

The service will also cut the travel time between the two places to about four hours from 10 to 12 hours.

Modi said work is being done so that the country’s sea area emerges as an important part of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’

“To boost the government’s effort, one more big step is being taken. Now, the Ministry of Shipping is being renamed as the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways,” he said.

“It (the ministry) is being expanded. In developed economies, in most places, the shipping ministry also takes care of ports and waterways. In India, the shipping ministry does a lot of work related to ports and waterways. Clarity in name will also bring about clarity in work,” he further said.

He also said the new Ro-Pax ferry service launched on Sunday will reduce the distance between Bhavnagar to Surat, which is around 375-km by road, to 90-km by sea route.

This will also reduce the travel time from 10-12 hours to three to four hours, he said.

“The service will help people save both time and cost and also reduce traffic congestion on roads and reduce pollution,” Modi said.

The three-deck Ro-Pax Ferry Vessel Voyage Symphony connecting Hazira in Surat district in south Gujarat and Ghogha in Saurashtras Bhavnagar has a load capacity of 30 trucks, 100 passenger cars, and 500 passengers plus 34 crew and hospitality staff, as per a statement earlier released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The ferry will make three trips daily, annually transporting five lakh passengers, 80,000 passenger vehicles, 50,000 two-wheelers and 30,000 trucks, as per the release.

“To reduce the cost of logistics, the country is moving ahead with a holistic and long-term view of multi-modal connectivity. The effort is to improve connectivity between road, rail, air and shipping infrastructure by removing silos between them,” the PM said.

He said multi-modal parks are being constructed not just in India, but also neighbouring countries.

“With all these efforts, we shall be able to reduce the cost of logistics. These efforts will also give a new direction to the economy,” he said.

Modi said the country always had resources and expertise in waterways, but the past governments lacked the vision to use them, despite the fact that transportation through waterways is much cheaper compared to road and rail, and causes minimum adverse affect on the environment.

“Despite this, it was only after 2014 that work was done with a holistic approach in this direction. These rivers and seas existed even before Modi became the prime minister. What was lacking was the vision that the country has experienced after 2014,” he said.

Modi said to boost the ‘blue economy’ and fishing business, his government also focused on fishermen and has come up with the ‘Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana’ with an outlay of Rs 30,000 crore to help improve the fishing infrastructure.

“Today, the port capacity of coastal areas across the country is being increased and new ports are being constructed. Efforts are being made to ensure that the 21,000 -km ‘jal marg’ (waterways) are used for the country’s development,” he said.