The India Ship Technology Centre was inaugurated on Friday at the Visakhapatnam Campus of Indian Maritime University campus at a cost of ₹305 crore. This will be an agency responsible for the overall development of the capabilities of the Indian shipbuilding sector, said Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal while inaugurating the centre remotely from IMU’s headquarters in Chennai.
The Centre will provide a common platform for the shipbuilding industry by providing access to common facilities, skilling of future personnel and providing a productive ecosystem for ship. This marks a new chapter for our nations Atmanirbharta in Ship Technology, design, R&D, engineering capabilities, he said in his address at 10th Convocation of the Indian Maritime University.
The minister said that investments made by the country in the Ports sector, since 2014, on improvement of port infrastructure, modernisation and mechanisation, have started yielding amazing results. Today, Indian Port’s “Turn Around Time” of 0.9 days, is better than advanced maritime nations such as US, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Singapore and many others.
Nine of India’s ports rank in the top 100 ports of the world. Today, one of the largest container ports of the World, Vadhavan, is being constructed at a cost of ₹76,000 crore. During the last ten years the cargo movement by inland waterways has increased by over 7 times and by over 150 per cent in coastal waterways, he said.
The minister said that investments made by the country in the Ports sector, since 2014, on improvement of port infrastructure, modernisation and mechanisation, have started yielding amazing results. Today, Indian Port’s “Turn Around Time” of 0.9 days, is better than advanced maritime nations such as US, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Singapore and many others.
Nine of India’s ports rank in the top 100 ports of the world. Today, one of the largest container ports of the World, Vadhavan, is being constructed at a cost of ₹76,000 crore. During the last ten years the cargo movement by inland waterways has increased by over 7 times and by over 150 per cent in coastal waterways, he said.
A decade ago, India had fewer than 1.25 lakh seafarers. Today, that number has crossed three lakhs. India now ranks among the top three countries globally in supplying the highest number of seafarers, he said.
In his speech, Tamil Nadu Industries Minister TRB Rajaa urged Sonowal to unlock the potential of the 796 km Buckingham Canal for cargo movement. It’s been 20 years since the Canal was declared as NW. The canal in the 1950s used to transport half-a-million tonnes of cargo. Nothing has happened in the last two decades to revived the cargo movement in the canal.
In response to the minister’s request, Shipping Secretary TK Ramachandran later speaking to newspersons said there are a few issues, including encroachments, that need to be sorted out.
