Service likely to start from June: Karachi-Mumbai ferry
By Parvaiz Ishfaq Rana
KARACHI, Feb 13: Land Ocean and Forbes, a company eyeing potential shipping business in the region, is said to have secured a licence for the Karachi-Mumbai ferry service. Another company Forbes & Forbes has also applied for a licence to the ministry of port and shipping, official sources told Dawn on Monday.
According to the sources, India and Pakistan were expected to sign a new shipping protocol by March or April. If all goes well, the Karachi-Mumbai ferry service could start by June or July this year.
Meanwhile, a study carried out by a shipping expert revealed that the fare of the ferry service could be 30 per cent cheaper than the airlines, with an advantage of liberal baggage rules. The service would attract travellers on either side who cannot afford airfares.
It is being suggested that the ferry put in service should accommodate 500 passengers. It should also carry a sizeable quantity of cargo, including vehicles and containers. Regarding the technical specification of the ferry, experts recommended that it should be of Ro-Ro type which is equally suitable for carrying passengers and cargo.
However, if cargo carrying capacity is not allowed, the experts believe that a ‘Catamaran’ category of ferry, which is Australian technology, should be recommended for this service because it will have faster speed of 30 to 40 knots and could reach Mumbai in 10 hours compared with other ferries which take 18 hours.
Sources said that feasibility reports were also being prepared in India for the ferry service. The study prepared by the shipping expert estimates that 17 per cent of ferry passengers could belong to business, 50 per cent middle income group and 14 per cent of the frequent travellers commonly known as “khepias”.
At present airfare between Karachi and Mumbai (economy class) of PIA is around Rs11,600 (return) and five a week flights on average carry 1,250 passengers. Air Lanka also operates on this route thrice a week and charges Rs12,500 and carries around 600 passengers per week.
This would mean that the ferry fare should not exceed Rs9,000 (return), but it could only be successful if the operators allow liberal baggage margins to encourage travellers from the middle and lower income groups.
There is also a need for the resumption of cargo service by the sea between the two countries, and it would only be possible if the shipping protocol of 1996 was amended to allow national flag carriers of both the countries to carry third country’s cargo. Without accommodating this clause the cargo service would not be viable.
There used to be a passenger service between Karachi and Mumbai, Karachi and Jeddah as well as Karachi and Chittagong. However, with the deterioration of political relations between the two countries and the creation of Bangladesh, these services came to an end during the late 1960s. But the Karachi-Jeddah passenger service continued till 1996.
Soon after the partition of the Subcontinent, Scindia Steamship Company had operated two ferries — Sabar Mati and Saras Wati — between Karachi and Mumbai. It was a weekly service.
Similarly, a Pakistani company, Pan Islamic Steamship, also operated a ferry service between Karachi, Mumbai and East Africa with its famous ship ‘Safina Hujjaj’. But they were mostly operated during the Hajj season.
There was also a British-India shipping company, popularly known as B-I Shipping, which was operating between Karachi and Chittagong with its ferry ‘S.S. Aronda’. However, due to tough competition from Pan Islamic, it had to wind up its service. Another Indian shipping company — Mughal Lines — was replaced by Pan-Islamic, which kept its Karachi-Jeddah service alive up to 1996 with its famous ferry ‘Safina-e-Arab II’ and used to charge Rs8,000 (return) as fare.
The success of ferry service entirely depends on competitive fares and quality of service. With the benefit of short travelling time, the airlines became the ultimate choice and shipping services started losing market gradually going out of business.
