Firm says Italian vessel undergoing maintenance in Mumbai; awaits clearances from DG Shipping
PANAJI
Over three decades after the passenger sea link between Goa and Mumbai snapped with the famed Navy operated ‘Konkan Shakti’ and ‘Konkan Sevak’ vessels deployed in Sri Lanka to serve the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), there is now hope again that you could embark on the pleasant Arabian sea voyage and take your car with you too.
The Mumbai based M2M Ferries is in the advanced stage of introducing a Ro-Ro ferry service between the Metropolis and Goa promising a six-and-half-hour journey.
The company has said, the Italian vessel it has purchased is undergoing maintenance at a Mumbai yard and licencing work is on with the DG Shipping and other related authorities and agencies for the requisite approvals to operate on the Goa-Mumbai route.
The company already operates a Ro-Ro service daily between Mumbai and Mandwa.
The roll-on-roll-off vessel it plans to operate on the Goa-Mumbai route has a per trip capacity of 620 passengers and 60 cars, multiple media reports said, adding that once commissioned it will sail from Mazagaon and dock at the Mormugao port in Goa.
The media reports quoted an official of the M2M company to say that the Italian vessel is a 15-year-old second-hand one and will be brought out from dry dock next month.
“We have applied for permissions with Director General of Shipping and other agencies,” the official has been quoted as saying. The official said his company has also approached the Goa government to explore having the Ro-Ro vessel dock at the Panaji jetty.
The reports also quoted Director General of Shipping, Shyam Jagannathan, as confirming that his office is processing the application of M2M Ferries.
The Goa to Mumbai sea voyage was a popular mode of commuting for the many Goans who frequently travelled to the Metropolis in the 1970s and ‘80s. It was also popular among Goans based in Mumbai who traditionally came to spend summer vacations here.
However, this sea link was abruptly severed when following the Indo-Sri Lanka peace accord, both the Navy-operated vessels were deployed in Sri Lanka to serve the IPKF force deployed in the island nation to tackle the militant LTTE movement in the mid-1980s.
Since then, the Goa-Mumbai sea link was briefly revived in the late 1990s when Damania Shipping introduced a Catamaran service. The vessel used to depart from Mumbai at 6 am and arrive in Goa by 1.30 pm. However, the company folded these operations within a few months.
There is another service between Mumbai and Goa currently operated by Cordellia Cruises but it caters to the luxury segment while another cruise liner ‘Angriya’ shut its services during the pandemic.
