The Kochi Corporation will on Wednesday launch a state-of-the-art roll on, roll off (ro-ro) vessel on the Vypeen-Fort Kochi ferry route — the first of its kind by any local body in the country.
The launch will be held at the Cochin Shipyard, where the vessel has been made at a cost of Rs.3.8 crore. The corporation has placed an order for constructing two ro-ro vessels at a total cost of Rs.7.14 crore. The vessels are being bought with financial assistance from the Kerala Urban and Rural Development Finance Corporation (KURDFC).
Each vessel can carry four trucks weighing 10 tonnes, 12 cars and 50 passengers.
The double-end ro-ro vessels will help faster movement of vehicles as both ends serve as exit and entry points. It will also help reduce congestion and waiting time at jetties.
The jhankar deployed on the route now carries fewer cars, while its turnaround time after each trip is high since vehicles driven in have to be reversed at the destination. This is not the case with the ro-ro vessels, often called floating bridges, since vehicles that enter first can be driven out first through the other end.
The ro-ro vessels, being built as per specifications of the Indian Register of Shipping, can attain a speed of up to eight knots and take around three minutes to cross the 600-metre distance between the two stations.
The civic body had launched the ro-ro project under the ‘Mission Kochi 15-8-15’ programme initiated by the previous United Democratic Front council. The clamour for safe, modern vessels on the route became louder after the ferry accident in the route last year.
