Thoothukudi sailing vessel owners seek cargo reservation to revive industry

MADURAI: The stakeholders who rely on sailing vessels, used in the traditional mode of cargo transportation, have sought the intervention of the central government to improve the prospects of the sailing vessel industry for the foreseeable future.

A delegation of Coastal Mechanised Sail Vessel Owners’ Association from Thoothukudi had recently met Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, in New Delhi, and placed their demands.

Highlighting the needs, S Lasington Fernando, secretary of the association, on Tuesday, sought reservation of perishable cargo for the sailing vessels, which are facing difficulties in competing with the container shipping industry, concerning shipments to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

The other most important demand is that the five-month foul weather restrictions be permanently lifted to ensure sailing vessel cargo operation thrives. The weather restrictions that usually come into force from May 1 tend to divert cargo to ships, he said.

Unlike those days, the sailing vessels are equipped with ‘distress alert transmitters,’ an automatic identification system, a global positioning system, VHF, and other modern navigation gadgets ensuring the safety of the sailing crew, he said, adding, therefore, weather restrictions are not required at practice.

Further, Fernando called for transforming the dry-dock facility, which’s in a dilapidated condition in Thoothukudi, to repair vessels.

Because there is no proper dry-docking facility in Thoothukudi, it takes a long time to sail across and reach the Mangalore seaport for the vessel repair.

The dry-dock has been neglected and remains idle for almost thirty years now. If the facility is refurbished, the sail vessel operators need not travel a long distance, he said. Moreover, he said the Mercantile Marine Department keeps insisting on bottom surveys of vessels.