Centre forms committee for making coastal shipping guidelines

The Shipping Ministry has formed a committee to draft revised Guidelines for operationalization of Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) and Roll on-Passenger (Ro-Pax) ferry service. This committee, headed by the Chairman, Deendayal Port Authority, would also draft the Model Concession Agreement for Ro-Ro or Ro-Pax Terminal Operator and Model License Agreement for Operation of the ferry services in the country.

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This move is in line with efforts to promote coastal shipping through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) route spelled out in the union budget 2023-24. An official statement said the Committee shall delve into the ground realities such as safety standards of vessels, control mechanism on excess boarding of passengers/cargo, online ticketing system, revenue accounting and revenue sharing mechanism among others.

Statutory clearances, exclusivity periods, inclusion of new and emerging technologies to prepare structured document which will eliminate unnecessary delays, disagreements facilitate the smooth and safe operation of the ferry service will also be under the purview of the committee.