HOW IT ROLLS: The ro-pax ferry service between Ghogha and Hazira has
transported 4.5 lakh vehicles till date

It’s been seven long years since Gujarat proudly launched its ferry service across the Gulf of Khambhat — a dream project meant to link rural Saurashtra with the vibrant city of Surat and its famed textiles and diamonds. Backed by the Centre’s Sagarmala initiative and boasting sleek new ro-pax ships — capable of ferrying vehicles and passengers — from South Korea and Japan, you’d think it would be smooth sailing.

But the reality is quite different. The ambitious venture is losing money. The project’s first ship, ‘Island Jade’, was brought in with great hope by a Surat businessman in 2017 to launch the service between Ghogha, on the western flank of the Gulf of Khambhat, and Hazira on the eastern side.

“Despite achieving 55 per cent capacity utilisation in transporting passengers and an impressive 87 per cent in cargo capacity utilisation, we are unable to meet the cost of operating the ferry service. We now have a net loss of ₹325 crore,” says Chetan Contractor, the promoter and Chairman of the Surat-based Detox Group, which operates the ferry through a subsidiary, Indigo Seaways Pvt Ltd.

In November 2020, the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways operationalised ro-pax ferry service between Ghogha and Hazira after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged it off with great fanfare. It has since transported 12.59 lakh passengers and 4.5 lakh vehicles. Compared to road transport, the ferry service cuts travel between Ghogha in Bhavnagar district and Hazira in Surat district by 400 km.

“Till date, we have unsecured loans totalling ₹242 crore, and we have no clue how to repay it. Even after selling the two vessels, a huge amount will be outstanding,” says Contractor. He adds that the ₹90 crore cost incurred on terminal operations has not been reimbursed by government agencies, as per the tripartite agreement inked between Indigo Seaways, Deendayal Port Authority and the Gujarat Maritime Board.

“The cost of operating the ferry terminals is not our responsibility. Secondly, we had bought a second ferry from Japan as we were expecting to bag the proposed Pipavav-Hazira and Pipavav-Mumbai ferry services. However, both projects did not take off and we were forced to deploy the ferry on the Ghogha-Hazira route in November 2022, after it remained idling for 1.5 years at Pipavav port,” he says.

The ferry operator has now sought viability gap funding from the government. “The ro-pax ferries are competing with road and rail transport of the government, which operate on subsidies. We have written to the GoI for support, without which the project is not financially viable, making it impossible to continue operating the service,” Contractor says.

To attract more traffic to the ferry service, the company had fixed the average ticketing price at ₹400-600 per passenger, which is half of the actual ticket cost.

Backstory

The history of the ferry service across the Gulf of Khambhat is much older. The project had been on the drawing board since 1995. However, it was in June 2010 that the project received Coastal Regulation Zone clearance for construction activities and operation of ferry service. It was originally planned to be operated between Ghogha and Dahej, which lies north of Hazira, to provide a crucial link to Bharuch and Surat.

Work on the project began in 2012, when Modi, as Gujarat Chief Minister, performed the ‘bhoomi pujan’ at Ghogha. After more than ₹600 crore spent on the project, spearheaded by the Gujarat Maritime Board, it was commissioned in October 2017. Modi, as PM, sailed aboard the passenger-only ‘Island Jade’ on the occasion.

In October 2018, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani inaugurated a new ro-pax vessel, ‘Voyage Symphony’, replacing Island Jade on the Ghogha-Dahej route. Until September 2019, the vessel had transported 2.8 lakh passengers, 45,000 cars, 12,500 trucks, and 26,000 two-wheelers. After three major breakdowns, the service was suspended due to heavy siltation at Dahej terminal, which is close to the mouth of Narmada river.

In January 2020, GMB informed the Centre that it was giving up the project as dredging costs had increased four times, leaving the project bleeding. The board wanted the Centre to take over the project. GMB had spent close to ₹250 crore on capital dredging and four maintenance dredging campaigns on the Ghogha-Dahej route. About a month later, Deendayal Port Trust (formerly Kandla Port Trust), on behalf of the Modi government, finally floated a tender to start a new Ghogha-Hazira ro-pax ferry route.