Coastal Shipping

• Coastline = 7,500 kilometres, But coastal shipping ferries a paltry 7% share of the overall local cargo movement in the country. 
• So What to do? --> Centre is mulling a scheme to promote this shipping. 
• 146 out of 805 vessels can carry cargo
• China has about 12,000 vessels that ferry an estimated 1 billion tonnes of coal, steel, grains and fertilisers a year.
• Countries are adopting freight modal shift plans by offering financial incentives to transporters for switching the shipping method from truck to rail or water. 
• Most comprehensive one being the Marco Polo Programme of the EU, which offers funding for projects that shift freight transportation away from the roads and has a budget of Euro 450 million.
• The Ministry of Shipping, road transport and highway plans to increase the share of coastal shipping in modal cargo mix to 10 per cent by 2019-20 and to promote cruise tourism leading to development of coastal regions.
•  It has prepared a vision for Coastal Shipping, Tourism and Regional Development in consultation with stakeholders along with an action plan to achieve the objectives.
• Rs 3 cr is the corpus (to be enhanced to Rs 300 crore) set up by Kerala government for coastal shipping promotion fund. 
• The state provides an incentive of Re 1 per tonne per km on cargo moving along the 540 km-long coastline of Kerala.
• 0.5/tonne/km is the subsidy on bulk cargo, according to the Centre’s plan for promoting coastal shipping. A rebate of Rs 2,000 a container for container cargo and an additional 20 per cent rebate on vessel/cargo-related charges would also be offered. 
• The subsidy would directly go to shippers of general cargo items like salt, sugar, automobiles, fertilisers, tiles, steel, cement, marble and foodgrains.

[Source: The Indian Express]