Campaign to declare Gulf of Mannar a World Heritage Site
Friday, 10.10.2008, 06:35am (GMT-7)
NEW YORK: An unprecedented international campaign to protect the Gulf of Mannar from destruction by the planned Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project (SSCP) is to be launched in London, UK, next month. The Gulf of Mannar, which separates the south eastern tip of India from the west coast of Sri Lanka, is one of South Asia's largest biosphere reserves and a site of recognized scientific, environmental, religious and cultural importance. In 2006, when dredging commenced for the SSCP, in order to provide a navigation route for large vessels around the whole of the Indian peninsula, there was a chorus of disapproval from environmental, humanitarian and religious and cultural organizations worldwide.
Now, for the first time, many of these organizations are to meet to provide compelling multi-disciplinary evidence encouraging the Governments of India and Sri Lanka to ask UNESCO to designate the Gulf as a World Heritage Site.
This would effectively end plans for the SSCP and ensure the Gulf - home for many endangered plant and animal species as well as being the site of the world-famous Adam's Bridge, or Ram Sethu, a structure sacred for Hindus - is protected. The first international meeting to call for a permanent cancellation of the Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project (SSCP) and for the Gulf to be designated a World Heritage Site will be held at the London headquarters of the world's oldest biological society, The Linnean Society, on November 25 and 26.
It will be attended by scientists, biologists, environmentalists, economists, NGOs, religious leaders and civic authorities worldwide. Chairing the meeting will be Peter Bunyard, a fellow of The Linnean Society, co-founder of The Ecologist magazine, and a respected worldwide authority on climate change; Dr. Ranil Senanayake, a leading systems ecologist who has worked with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Bank on matters of biodiversity and forest rehabilitation; Maaike Hendriks, of Both ENDS in Amsterdam. Both ENDS strives for a more sustainable and fairer world by supporting organization in developing countries to fight poverty and to work towards sustainable environmental management.
The meeting has been championed by Kusum Vyas of the Living Planet Foundation. She says many leading environmentalists and scientists recognize that the SSCP is a flawed venture which has been inaugurated without any detailed review of devastating impacts to the invaluable biodiversity of the Gulf of Mannar. She also argues the SSCP ignores critical environmental and humanitarian issues - including the impact on the livelihood of thousands of fishermen in the area - and that the project has not taken into sufficient account views expressed by environmentalists, seismologists, oceanographers and those living along the coastline.
"As world leaders contemplate ways to save the earth's environment, all responsible citizens of the global community must recognize that dredging and destroying one of the world's few remaining hotspots in terms of its exceptional biodiversity, to create a ship channel in the region of the Gulf of Mannar translates into an ecological disaster," says Kusum Vyas. "If this project goes ahead, more than 100 species of corals and thousands of sea turtles and endangered sea animals such as dolphins and dugongs will be irrevocably harmed.
We know the shipping lanes will bring pollution into the area and mankind will lose forever a part of its precious and fragile environment. Such action simply can't be justified on the grounds it is convenient for people and helps the economy. "To do so would be a sin not just against nature, but also against our own children and generations to come. On the other hand, if the governments of India and Sri Lanka work to declare the Gulf of Mannar a World Heritage site, they can leave a lasting legacy for their people and the citizens of the world."
India Post News Service
http://indiapost.com/article/usnews/4111/
Friday, October 10, 2008
Jaya dares Karunanidhi on Ram issue. Setu project closed chapter.
This summary is not available. Please
click here to view the post.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Setu project: Centre engages a private firm to examine alternative alignment
Centre examines alternative alignment of SSCP project
Rameswaram, Oct 4 (PTI) The Centre has set in motion the process of examining an alternative alignment of the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel project (SSCP) following the Supreme Court directive, even as a team of engineers has commenced a survey of the area.
A 15-member team of a private firm is engaged in the inspection of the site chosen, to work out an alternative alignment. They are expected to take at least a fortnight to complete the preliminary study and submit a report, revenue and SSCP sources said.
The team commenced the work on September 29. Though a similar study had been undertaken in the same alignment earlier, it was not completed, the sources said.
The team is conducting surveys at Dhanushkodi, Old Railway Station, Kambipadu, Nadupadu, Aatruodai and Arichal Munai to know the nature of soil, and drilling operations will be done to a depth of 70 to 90 metres. The survey report in turn would be studied by the experts before taking a decision on the alternative alignment, they added.
The Centre had already constituted a six-member committee headed by noted environmental expert Rajendra Pachouri, to explore the new alignment.
A meeting of the experts with the SSCP and Dredging Corporation of India officials was also held in August last when it was decided to take up a survey on the new alignment.
A total of six alignments were suggested since the project was conceived. One alignment chosen was stoutly opposed by political parties, including BJP and Shiv Sena, as it cut through the Ramar Sethu, popularly known as Adams bridge. PTI
http://www.ptinews.com/pti\ptisite.nsf/0/506279E063E9A61E652574D90026ED94?OpenDocument
Rameswaram, Oct 4 (PTI) The Centre has set in motion the process of examining an alternative alignment of the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel project (SSCP) following the Supreme Court directive, even as a team of engineers has commenced a survey of the area.
A 15-member team of a private firm is engaged in the inspection of the site chosen, to work out an alternative alignment. They are expected to take at least a fortnight to complete the preliminary study and submit a report, revenue and SSCP sources said.
The team commenced the work on September 29. Though a similar study had been undertaken in the same alignment earlier, it was not completed, the sources said.
The team is conducting surveys at Dhanushkodi, Old Railway Station, Kambipadu, Nadupadu, Aatruodai and Arichal Munai to know the nature of soil, and drilling operations will be done to a depth of 70 to 90 metres. The survey report in turn would be studied by the experts before taking a decision on the alternative alignment, they added.
The Centre had already constituted a six-member committee headed by noted environmental expert Rajendra Pachouri, to explore the new alignment.
A meeting of the experts with the SSCP and Dredging Corporation of India officials was also held in August last when it was decided to take up a survey on the new alignment.
A total of six alignments were suggested since the project was conceived. One alignment chosen was stoutly opposed by political parties, including BJP and Shiv Sena, as it cut through the Ramar Sethu, popularly known as Adams bridge. PTI
http://www.ptinews.com/pti\ptisite.nsf/0/506279E063E9A61E652574D90026ED94?OpenDocument
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Abandon Setu project. Develop Vizhinjam Container port
Here is a detailed article on Colombo port and the possibility of developing Vizhinjam as a container port on the west coast to provide for a world-class container terminal.
Government of India should just give up the Setusamudram project and focus on Vizhinjam port development.
About Vizhinjam port
Vizhinjam is an all - weather port and the international shipping line is just 10 nautical mile off its coast.
The Vizhinjam Port is clearly positioning itself to become Colombo’s direct competitor.
The Port’s official website says that, “Vizhinjam has more advantages compared to the Colombo port, and if developed can harbour even Panamax class and futuristic vessels. It also satisfies the physical and hydrographical parameters of modern seaports.”
The Port’s unique selling point is a natural depth of 24 meters which the Indian government claims is by far the best compared to other ports in the world - even those of New York, Southampton, Singapore, Dubai, Colombo, Hong Kong whose depth is only 15 meters.
The proposed Vizhinjam port, which is being marketed as a Green-field project, away from urban/city limit was originally just a fishing village and had to be developed completely from scratch.
The only claim to shipping, this village which lies 15 kms from Thiruvananthapuram and two kms South of Kovalam has, is its historic origins as the capital of Ayvel Kings of the 8th and 9th century.
The new Port, according to the available information from different websites has all the ingredients to turn out as an efficient, modern and highly productive one, and India is inviting international players with experience in developing the world’s high capacity modern ports, to submit their proposals.
The Port is also expected to attract a large share of the container transshipment traffic which is now being diverted to Colombo, Singapore and Dubai. It can also ensure the much needed economic development of India as well as open up immense job opportunities.
The proposed deepwater international container transshipment terminal at Vizhinjam is expected to bring down the total costs of movement of containers to and from foreign destinations, according to the Container Shipment Economics Study.
At present, India’s port capacity (12 major Indian ports) is a meagre 4.61 million TEUs/annum compared with China’s capacity of 50 million TEUs, almost 11 times that of India’s.
Vizhinjam Port alone will have the capacity of 4.10 million TEUs/annum.
Kalyanaraman
http://www.nation.lk/2008/10/05/newsfe5.htm Kerala port casts shadow over Colombo harbour’s future
Kerala port casts shadow over Colombo harbour’s future
“Chief Engineer Southern Port Development of the SLPA Janaka Kurukulasuriya did admit that Colombo port could be hit due to the development of ports in India. But added it was not a major worry.
“Capacity at Port of Colombo is nearly 4.5 m TEC and once the completion of the full expansion project it will be 14 m TEU.
“Our growth rate at present is 10%. We are closely monitoring all the development that takes place in India.
“It is true that we are little bit late, but not too late. Our schedule is to commence the operation of first terminal in the first quarter of 2012.”
By Wilson Gnanadass
Fresh questions are being raised as to whether Colombo harbour which has been acclaimed as one of the best transshipment hubs in the world, could continue to stake that claim with the advent of another major port in Kerala, India.
If Sri Lanka’s pride has been the port of Colombo, for its efficient and effective operation as a transshipment hub, doubts have now been cast. Soon the Colombo harbour may lose its splendor due to the emergence of other ports in the region.
It is not known how much and to what extent the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has taken this threat seriously. However, the SLPA, it is learnt has opted to face the challenge.
The Colombo harbour, considered to be a well equipped transshipment port, has highly specialised infrastructure facilities for handling different types of freight, and acts as a switching point for cargo carried by deep sea vessels operating on trans-continental trade routes.
The SLPA has been successful in recording significant revenue from the transshipment business and according to the latest information has handled its highest ever monthly throughput of 185,099 Twenty – Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) last August, against its previous highest monthly throughput of 173, 583 TEUs recorded in last July. According to the SLPA it is a positive change of 11,516 TEUs.
Parallel to these standards, the port of Colombo has also been able to exceed its previous highest ever monthly throughput of 326,124 TEUs recorded in July 2008, up to 340,240 TEUs last August marking the latest highest ever monthly throughput record.
No doubt, these figures are direct indications of growth and stability of a port that has gained international recognition right throughout – an achievement, every Sri Lankan can be proud of.
Saturation point
Be that as it may, every business venture has to end at one point after reaching its saturation point, if no long term plan to expand the same venture is taken up with foresight and vision.
Going by the figures produced by the SLPA the Colombo port has handled 2,455,293 TEUs in 2005 and 3, 079, 086 TEUs in 2006 and 3,381,342 TEUs in 2007.
The capacity of both terminals (Jaya Container Terminal and the South Asian Gateway Terminal) is only 4.1 Million TEUs.
Similarly, India’s growth (which is Sri Lanka’s main catchment area) is around 15 % to 20% per annum. This would mean that by the end of 2008, if an all out effort to attract the Lankan share of the Indian volumes to be transshipped over Colombo is made, then the port of Colombo will be close to its optimum capacity.
Realising this, the SLPA has already put its act together, planning on developing another terminal.
According to SLPA sources the work is functioning smoothly and operations at the new terminal are expected to commence in the first quarter of 2012.
Hidden threat
The SLPA cannot be blind to the hidden threat posed by the fast emerging Vizhinjam port in Kerala, which is set to directly compete with the Colombo port also by the year 2012.
Wide publicity has already been given to the Vizhinjam port in the Indian newspapers and the websites.
Vizhinjam, a sleepy fishing village on the western Kerala coast of India, will soon become an important cog in the country’s transshipment business.
The Vizhinjam port project which failed to obtain approval for nearly two decades, has finally been given sanction by the central government of India, according to Indian State Ports Minister M. Vijayakumar.
The port according to the available information in different websites, will fulfill the need of providing transshipment on the Indian coast, as at present there is no existing Container Transshipment Terminal in India to cater to this need.
Annual container traffic close to four million TEUs is currently originating or destined to India through sea route with CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 14% during the last decade.
About Vizhinjam port
Vizhinjam is an all - weather port and the international shipping line is just 10 nautical mile off its coast.
The Vizhinjam Port is clearly positioning itself to become Colombo’s direct competitor.
The Port’s official website says that, “Vizhinjam has more advantages compared to the Colombo port, and if developed can harbour even Panamax class and futuristic vessels. It also satisfies the physical and hydrographical parameters of modern seaports.”
The Port’s unique selling point is a natural depth of 24 meters which the Indian government claims is by far the best compared to other ports in the world - even those of New York, Southampton, Singapore, Dubai, Colombo, Hong Kong whose depth is only 15 meters.
The proposed Vizhinjam port, which is being marketed as a Green-field project, away from urban/city limit was originally just a fishing village and had to be developed completely from scratch.
The only claim to shipping, this village which lies 15 kms from Thiruvananthapuram and two kms South of Kovalam has, is its historic origins as the capital of Ayvel Kings of the 8th and 9th century.
The new Port, according to the available information from different websites has all the ingredients to turn out as an efficient, modern and highly productive one, and India is inviting international players with experience in developing the world’s high capacity modern ports, to submit their proposals.
The Port is also expected to attract a large share of the container transshipment traffic which is now being diverted to Colombo, Singapore and Dubai. It can also ensure the much needed economic development of India as well as open up immense job opportunities.
The proposed deepwater international container transshipment terminal at Vizhinjam is expected to bring down the total costs of movement of containers to and from foreign destinations, according to the Container Shipment Economics Study.
At present, India’s port capacity (12 major Indian ports) is a meagre 4.61 million TEUs/annum compared with China’s capacity of 50 million TEUs, almost 11 times that of India’s.
Vizhinjam Port alone will have the capacity of 4.10 million TEUs/annum. This matter has to be looked at in the light of India not giving up on developing the Sethusamurdram project. The study, carried out by IL&FS Infrastructure Development Corporation and Hauer Associates, has also found that the Sethusamudram project will promote inter-coastal movements of Indian cargo, enhancing the potential of Vizhinjam as a transshipment hub.
Indian gateway ports
On the other hand, the present Indian gateway ports do not attract a sufficient number of mainline vessels due to inadequate facilities and the distance from international shipping routes.
As of now, about 61 per cent of Indian export/import containers are transshipped through the nearby foreign ports of Colombo, Singapore and Salalah (Oman.)
This results in an additional burden of upto $200 per TEU of cargo interests with freight paid by Indian exporters being 11.4 per cent of the c.i.f (cost, insurance, freight) value of goods as against the world average of 6.1 per cent.
With Vizhimjam port draft being 24 ft it will be able to attract the post Panamax container ships.
Plight
With a capacity of four million TEUs per annum, the Vizhinjam port will have the same capacity of the Colombo Port and with a draft far exceeding Colombo’s harbour depth, the chances of Colombo harbour becoming less attractive to mainliners, is a definite possibility.
For the Colombo Port this may well mean the end of an era. The monopoly Colombo now enjoys over sea routes in this part of the world might become a thing of the past, come 2012.
Sri Lanka has held sway over this industry for centuries now, because of her strategic location and ideal conditions of Colombo harbour.
The relatively new transshipment business came easily to Sri Lanka due to Indian ports not having the depth and capacity to handle the big ships.
Therefore it has been convenient for India to ship containers on smaller vessels from her southern ports to Colombo, where it is mixed and matched to various destinations in the world.
This makes sense so long as the Colombo Port has capacity to handle the expanding transshipment business (which was about 15 per cent year on year). But here lies the catch – the Port of Colombo is coming to the end of its capacity quite soon. Sometime next year Colombo harbour might hit a dead end when the port reaches saturation point.
Notwithstanding the location of Vizhinjam in the Deep South, cargo interests in the southern, northern and western regions may find it more viable to use the port as a gateway/transshipment terminal instead of Colombo, Singapore or Salalah. This means the hinterland of the port may extend to the western and northern parts of the country.
Once the new port has been constructed, Indian exporters will not have to travel to Dubai or Singapore for transshipment of cargo. It is expected to save Rs 1000 crores in expenditure.
According to IIM Students in Bangalore, with India’s current capacity for handling cargo is nearing saturation, a new port is a necessity, and Vizhinjam can fill that void extremely well.
The students in an article to the Economic Times, India have said that US $ 150 is levied in Colombo for transshipment and US $ 130 in Dubai and Singapore for the same.
They have therefore said that India can not only garner a substantial portion of this fee, but also save a lot of money if her ships break their bulk at Indian ports.
“A single container transshipped from Colombo port to Cochin incurs an expense of US $ 1,200. If it was directly landed at Cochin it would cost only US $ 400. Eight per cent of Indian containers are transshipped at Colombo, Singapore and Dubai and Indian ships account for 60 to 70 % of Colombo’s traffic,” they have said in their article.
Considering the shipping volume for the Asian region, the total transshipment cargo is expected to increase by 80%, 70% and 200 % for Colombo, Singapore and Port Klang respectively.
The IIM students from Bangalore in their article to the Economic Times India have therefore suggested that with proper planning Vizhinjam can expect to corner a significant chunk of the shipping volumes forecast to go to Colombo, along with a part of the volumes heading for Singapore and Klang.
Fears expressed
The fast development of Vizhinjam which is sure to gobble a major portion of the earnings by the SLPA, has raised concerns among most of the feeder shipping agents.
A senior official attached to a feeder shipping agency told The Nation that if proper steps were not taken to develop the Colombo harbour rapidly, then Sri Lanka was in for trouble.
“At its current status, the Colombo port will not be able to provide berth to some of the big ships in the future. This does not mean that we have to panic when ports in India are coming up. But if there is an undue delay in the development of the Colombo port then there can be a problem,” he said.
He said when the ships planned their services, they planned 18 months ahead of their services. He added that if Colombo was not prepared with a product plan, then these ships can easily look elsewhere.
He said the Colombo port has commenced the breakwater project already and added the development of the terminal can take place only ten months after the commencement of the breakwater project.
The top official said that normally the target time frame to complete a terminal was around three years, and added if the work was not completed in the Colombo port by 2012, then larger ships will be calling elsewhere, and the bulk of the transshipment volume could thus get diverted.
http://www.nation.lk/2008/10/05/newsfe5.htm
Government of India should just give up the Setusamudram project and focus on Vizhinjam port development.
About Vizhinjam port
Vizhinjam is an all - weather port and the international shipping line is just 10 nautical mile off its coast.
The Vizhinjam Port is clearly positioning itself to become Colombo’s direct competitor.
The Port’s official website says that, “Vizhinjam has more advantages compared to the Colombo port, and if developed can harbour even Panamax class and futuristic vessels. It also satisfies the physical and hydrographical parameters of modern seaports.”
The Port’s unique selling point is a natural depth of 24 meters which the Indian government claims is by far the best compared to other ports in the world - even those of New York, Southampton, Singapore, Dubai, Colombo, Hong Kong whose depth is only 15 meters.
The proposed Vizhinjam port, which is being marketed as a Green-field project, away from urban/city limit was originally just a fishing village and had to be developed completely from scratch.
The only claim to shipping, this village which lies 15 kms from Thiruvananthapuram and two kms South of Kovalam has, is its historic origins as the capital of Ayvel Kings of the 8th and 9th century.
The new Port, according to the available information from different websites has all the ingredients to turn out as an efficient, modern and highly productive one, and India is inviting international players with experience in developing the world’s high capacity modern ports, to submit their proposals.
The Port is also expected to attract a large share of the container transshipment traffic which is now being diverted to Colombo, Singapore and Dubai. It can also ensure the much needed economic development of India as well as open up immense job opportunities.
The proposed deepwater international container transshipment terminal at Vizhinjam is expected to bring down the total costs of movement of containers to and from foreign destinations, according to the Container Shipment Economics Study.
At present, India’s port capacity (12 major Indian ports) is a meagre 4.61 million TEUs/annum compared with China’s capacity of 50 million TEUs, almost 11 times that of India’s.
Vizhinjam Port alone will have the capacity of 4.10 million TEUs/annum.
Kalyanaraman
http://www.nation.lk/2008/10/05/newsfe5.htm Kerala port casts shadow over Colombo harbour’s future
Kerala port casts shadow over Colombo harbour’s future
“Chief Engineer Southern Port Development of the SLPA Janaka Kurukulasuriya did admit that Colombo port could be hit due to the development of ports in India. But added it was not a major worry.
“Capacity at Port of Colombo is nearly 4.5 m TEC and once the completion of the full expansion project it will be 14 m TEU.
“Our growth rate at present is 10%. We are closely monitoring all the development that takes place in India.
“It is true that we are little bit late, but not too late. Our schedule is to commence the operation of first terminal in the first quarter of 2012.”
By Wilson Gnanadass
Fresh questions are being raised as to whether Colombo harbour which has been acclaimed as one of the best transshipment hubs in the world, could continue to stake that claim with the advent of another major port in Kerala, India.
If Sri Lanka’s pride has been the port of Colombo, for its efficient and effective operation as a transshipment hub, doubts have now been cast. Soon the Colombo harbour may lose its splendor due to the emergence of other ports in the region.
It is not known how much and to what extent the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has taken this threat seriously. However, the SLPA, it is learnt has opted to face the challenge.
The Colombo harbour, considered to be a well equipped transshipment port, has highly specialised infrastructure facilities for handling different types of freight, and acts as a switching point for cargo carried by deep sea vessels operating on trans-continental trade routes.
The SLPA has been successful in recording significant revenue from the transshipment business and according to the latest information has handled its highest ever monthly throughput of 185,099 Twenty – Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) last August, against its previous highest monthly throughput of 173, 583 TEUs recorded in last July. According to the SLPA it is a positive change of 11,516 TEUs.
Parallel to these standards, the port of Colombo has also been able to exceed its previous highest ever monthly throughput of 326,124 TEUs recorded in July 2008, up to 340,240 TEUs last August marking the latest highest ever monthly throughput record.
No doubt, these figures are direct indications of growth and stability of a port that has gained international recognition right throughout – an achievement, every Sri Lankan can be proud of.
Saturation point
Be that as it may, every business venture has to end at one point after reaching its saturation point, if no long term plan to expand the same venture is taken up with foresight and vision.
Going by the figures produced by the SLPA the Colombo port has handled 2,455,293 TEUs in 2005 and 3, 079, 086 TEUs in 2006 and 3,381,342 TEUs in 2007.
The capacity of both terminals (Jaya Container Terminal and the South Asian Gateway Terminal) is only 4.1 Million TEUs.
Similarly, India’s growth (which is Sri Lanka’s main catchment area) is around 15 % to 20% per annum. This would mean that by the end of 2008, if an all out effort to attract the Lankan share of the Indian volumes to be transshipped over Colombo is made, then the port of Colombo will be close to its optimum capacity.
Realising this, the SLPA has already put its act together, planning on developing another terminal.
According to SLPA sources the work is functioning smoothly and operations at the new terminal are expected to commence in the first quarter of 2012.
Hidden threat
The SLPA cannot be blind to the hidden threat posed by the fast emerging Vizhinjam port in Kerala, which is set to directly compete with the Colombo port also by the year 2012.
Wide publicity has already been given to the Vizhinjam port in the Indian newspapers and the websites.
Vizhinjam, a sleepy fishing village on the western Kerala coast of India, will soon become an important cog in the country’s transshipment business.
The Vizhinjam port project which failed to obtain approval for nearly two decades, has finally been given sanction by the central government of India, according to Indian State Ports Minister M. Vijayakumar.
The port according to the available information in different websites, will fulfill the need of providing transshipment on the Indian coast, as at present there is no existing Container Transshipment Terminal in India to cater to this need.
Annual container traffic close to four million TEUs is currently originating or destined to India through sea route with CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 14% during the last decade.
About Vizhinjam port
Vizhinjam is an all - weather port and the international shipping line is just 10 nautical mile off its coast.
The Vizhinjam Port is clearly positioning itself to become Colombo’s direct competitor.
The Port’s official website says that, “Vizhinjam has more advantages compared to the Colombo port, and if developed can harbour even Panamax class and futuristic vessels. It also satisfies the physical and hydrographical parameters of modern seaports.”
The Port’s unique selling point is a natural depth of 24 meters which the Indian government claims is by far the best compared to other ports in the world - even those of New York, Southampton, Singapore, Dubai, Colombo, Hong Kong whose depth is only 15 meters.
The proposed Vizhinjam port, which is being marketed as a Green-field project, away from urban/city limit was originally just a fishing village and had to be developed completely from scratch.
The only claim to shipping, this village which lies 15 kms from Thiruvananthapuram and two kms South of Kovalam has, is its historic origins as the capital of Ayvel Kings of the 8th and 9th century.
The new Port, according to the available information from different websites has all the ingredients to turn out as an efficient, modern and highly productive one, and India is inviting international players with experience in developing the world’s high capacity modern ports, to submit their proposals.
The Port is also expected to attract a large share of the container transshipment traffic which is now being diverted to Colombo, Singapore and Dubai. It can also ensure the much needed economic development of India as well as open up immense job opportunities.
The proposed deepwater international container transshipment terminal at Vizhinjam is expected to bring down the total costs of movement of containers to and from foreign destinations, according to the Container Shipment Economics Study.
At present, India’s port capacity (12 major Indian ports) is a meagre 4.61 million TEUs/annum compared with China’s capacity of 50 million TEUs, almost 11 times that of India’s.
Vizhinjam Port alone will have the capacity of 4.10 million TEUs/annum. This matter has to be looked at in the light of India not giving up on developing the Sethusamurdram project. The study, carried out by IL&FS Infrastructure Development Corporation and Hauer Associates, has also found that the Sethusamudram project will promote inter-coastal movements of Indian cargo, enhancing the potential of Vizhinjam as a transshipment hub.
Indian gateway ports
On the other hand, the present Indian gateway ports do not attract a sufficient number of mainline vessels due to inadequate facilities and the distance from international shipping routes.
As of now, about 61 per cent of Indian export/import containers are transshipped through the nearby foreign ports of Colombo, Singapore and Salalah (Oman.)
This results in an additional burden of upto $200 per TEU of cargo interests with freight paid by Indian exporters being 11.4 per cent of the c.i.f (cost, insurance, freight) value of goods as against the world average of 6.1 per cent.
With Vizhimjam port draft being 24 ft it will be able to attract the post Panamax container ships.
Plight
With a capacity of four million TEUs per annum, the Vizhinjam port will have the same capacity of the Colombo Port and with a draft far exceeding Colombo’s harbour depth, the chances of Colombo harbour becoming less attractive to mainliners, is a definite possibility.
For the Colombo Port this may well mean the end of an era. The monopoly Colombo now enjoys over sea routes in this part of the world might become a thing of the past, come 2012.
Sri Lanka has held sway over this industry for centuries now, because of her strategic location and ideal conditions of Colombo harbour.
The relatively new transshipment business came easily to Sri Lanka due to Indian ports not having the depth and capacity to handle the big ships.
Therefore it has been convenient for India to ship containers on smaller vessels from her southern ports to Colombo, where it is mixed and matched to various destinations in the world.
This makes sense so long as the Colombo Port has capacity to handle the expanding transshipment business (which was about 15 per cent year on year). But here lies the catch – the Port of Colombo is coming to the end of its capacity quite soon. Sometime next year Colombo harbour might hit a dead end when the port reaches saturation point.
Notwithstanding the location of Vizhinjam in the Deep South, cargo interests in the southern, northern and western regions may find it more viable to use the port as a gateway/transshipment terminal instead of Colombo, Singapore or Salalah. This means the hinterland of the port may extend to the western and northern parts of the country.
Once the new port has been constructed, Indian exporters will not have to travel to Dubai or Singapore for transshipment of cargo. It is expected to save Rs 1000 crores in expenditure.
According to IIM Students in Bangalore, with India’s current capacity for handling cargo is nearing saturation, a new port is a necessity, and Vizhinjam can fill that void extremely well.
The students in an article to the Economic Times, India have said that US $ 150 is levied in Colombo for transshipment and US $ 130 in Dubai and Singapore for the same.
They have therefore said that India can not only garner a substantial portion of this fee, but also save a lot of money if her ships break their bulk at Indian ports.
“A single container transshipped from Colombo port to Cochin incurs an expense of US $ 1,200. If it was directly landed at Cochin it would cost only US $ 400. Eight per cent of Indian containers are transshipped at Colombo, Singapore and Dubai and Indian ships account for 60 to 70 % of Colombo’s traffic,” they have said in their article.
Considering the shipping volume for the Asian region, the total transshipment cargo is expected to increase by 80%, 70% and 200 % for Colombo, Singapore and Port Klang respectively.
The IIM students from Bangalore in their article to the Economic Times India have therefore suggested that with proper planning Vizhinjam can expect to corner a significant chunk of the shipping volumes forecast to go to Colombo, along with a part of the volumes heading for Singapore and Klang.
Fears expressed
The fast development of Vizhinjam which is sure to gobble a major portion of the earnings by the SLPA, has raised concerns among most of the feeder shipping agents.
A senior official attached to a feeder shipping agency told The Nation that if proper steps were not taken to develop the Colombo harbour rapidly, then Sri Lanka was in for trouble.
“At its current status, the Colombo port will not be able to provide berth to some of the big ships in the future. This does not mean that we have to panic when ports in India are coming up. But if there is an undue delay in the development of the Colombo port then there can be a problem,” he said.
He said when the ships planned their services, they planned 18 months ahead of their services. He added that if Colombo was not prepared with a product plan, then these ships can easily look elsewhere.
He said the Colombo port has commenced the breakwater project already and added the development of the terminal can take place only ten months after the commencement of the breakwater project.
The top official said that normally the target time frame to complete a terminal was around three years, and added if the work was not completed in the Colombo port by 2012, then larger ships will be calling elsewhere, and the bulk of the transshipment volume could thus get diverted.
http://www.nation.lk/2008/10/05/newsfe5.htm
Friday, September 12, 2008
Setu channel: Kannagi’s curse anniversary on inaugural day; project misses deadline.
Setu channel: Kannagi’s curse anniversary on inaugural day; project misses deadline.
Thanks to Commander Unninathan for the brilliant note. It is Kannagi's curse anniversary indeed. Kannagi, the Tamil divinity will NOT allow the desiccation of Sethusamudram with a project which is a nautical folly and a mariner's nightmare. Maa Kannagi will take care of the welfare of the people of Bharatam, of the coastal people through marine economic zones and development of deep-sea container ports at Kochi and Vizhinjam to link up with the mainland through container-rail-coordination.
namaskaram. kalyanaraman
Commander GVK Unnithan September 12th, 2008 9:59 am :
The deadline was unilaterally decided by the Min of Shipping resulting from a wishful thinking. Infact the Shipping Ministry had boasted that the inaguration will take place on 8th of Oct 2008 ! None of the predicton considered the ground realities. The saving of the 424/785/30 syndrome is not at all practical. May be 12-18 hours would be gained at a very heavy cost. Has any one in the maritime industry or a professional shipper ok ed the project? None. It is a poitical canal for swindling the public money and adding one more name in the list of sick PSUs. Even if the courts clear it and the canal is opened, only coastal vessels can use it due to depth restrictions as no ocean going cargo ship/ oil tanker will use it as it is economically unviable. Added to this was the various govt officials concerned were working at cross purpose resulting embarassment to the govt at least more than twice. The inaguration of the Project has taken place on the very same day, when Kannagi cursed the city of Madurai for killing her husband Kovilan ( Shilappathikaram by Elango Adigal). Then how is the project going to materialise?
http://www.sindhtoday.net/south-asia/20000.htm#comment-1500
Sethusamudram channel project likely to miss deadline
Sep 12th, 2008 | By Sindh Today
New Delhi, Sep 12 (IANS) The controversial Sethusamudram ship channel to link India’s eastern and western coasts to avoid a 785-km detour around Sri Lanka is expected to overshoot its October deadline, as petitions against it are still pending in courts and only 25 percent of the work has been completed, officials said here.
The Rs.242.7 billion ($6 billion) project aims to create a 167-km-long navigable channel to link the Gulf of Mannar with the Bay of Bengal via Adam’s Bridge, Palk Bay and Palk Strait between India and neighbouring Sri Lanka.
‘As of now, nearly 25 percent physical progress has been achieved. Efforts are on to expedite the execution. But meeting the October deadline does not seem possible,’ said a senior official in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (S&PI).
The ministry oversees the implementation of major central sector projects related to several fields like atomic energy, power, railways, shipping, roads and highways.
The Sethusamudram project was sanctioned in June 2005. It was the first major shipping infrastructure project Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government sanctioned after assuming office in April 2004.
The Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways is implementing the project with the active participation of Tuticorin Port Trust (TPT).
‘The delay was inevitable in view of several litigations in the Madras High Court and even the Supreme Court. Two precious years were lost in riding out all these hurdles,’ the official, who requested anonymity, told IANS.
Said a senior official of Sethusamudram Corporation Ltd (SCL): ‘The dredging is going on at the Palk Bay side. Whether the deadline is met or not depends upon the court’s (Supreme Court) final verdict.’
‘It is a good project, and will help the country in furthering trade interests. We will save a lot of time, energy and money once the channel gets operational,’ the official told IANS on phone from Chennai.
At present ships cannot use the channel, partly because of the sand stone reef called Adam’s bridge at Pamban, near Rameswaram, where the depth of the sea is hardly 11 feet.
When completed, the channel will save nearly 424 nautical miles or 785 km and around 30 hours of sailing time for ships navigating between India’s east and west coasts.
The project ran into controversy soon after the central government decided to start the work with several organisations including the country’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) opposing the channel.
They claimed that the channel would destroy the bridge now called Adam’s Bridge. The epic Ramayana says the bridge was built by the army of Lord Ram on its way to Lanka for the battle with Ravan and the rescue of Sita.
The project has also raised the hackles of some environmentalists who say the shoals form a unique ecosystem that will be destroyed by the dredging, while the sand being dredged from the spot and being dumped in the seabed elsewhere will also destroy a lot of marine life.
The centre has, however, in an affidavit to the Supreme Court termed the opposition to the project as ‘misconceived’ and ‘unsubstantiated’ and asked the court to ‘refrain from interdicting’.
http://www.sindhtoday.net/?s=sethusamudram
Thanks to Commander Unninathan for the brilliant note. It is Kannagi's curse anniversary indeed. Kannagi, the Tamil divinity will NOT allow the desiccation of Sethusamudram with a project which is a nautical folly and a mariner's nightmare. Maa Kannagi will take care of the welfare of the people of Bharatam, of the coastal people through marine economic zones and development of deep-sea container ports at Kochi and Vizhinjam to link up with the mainland through container-rail-coordination.
namaskaram. kalyanaraman
Commander GVK Unnithan September 12th, 2008 9:59 am :
The deadline was unilaterally decided by the Min of Shipping resulting from a wishful thinking. Infact the Shipping Ministry had boasted that the inaguration will take place on 8th of Oct 2008 ! None of the predicton considered the ground realities. The saving of the 424/785/30 syndrome is not at all practical. May be 12-18 hours would be gained at a very heavy cost. Has any one in the maritime industry or a professional shipper ok ed the project? None. It is a poitical canal for swindling the public money and adding one more name in the list of sick PSUs. Even if the courts clear it and the canal is opened, only coastal vessels can use it due to depth restrictions as no ocean going cargo ship/ oil tanker will use it as it is economically unviable. Added to this was the various govt officials concerned were working at cross purpose resulting embarassment to the govt at least more than twice. The inaguration of the Project has taken place on the very same day, when Kannagi cursed the city of Madurai for killing her husband Kovilan ( Shilappathikaram by Elango Adigal). Then how is the project going to materialise?
http://www.sindhtoday.net/south-asia/20000.htm#comment-1500
Sethusamudram channel project likely to miss deadline
Sep 12th, 2008 | By Sindh Today
New Delhi, Sep 12 (IANS) The controversial Sethusamudram ship channel to link India’s eastern and western coasts to avoid a 785-km detour around Sri Lanka is expected to overshoot its October deadline, as petitions against it are still pending in courts and only 25 percent of the work has been completed, officials said here.
The Rs.242.7 billion ($6 billion) project aims to create a 167-km-long navigable channel to link the Gulf of Mannar with the Bay of Bengal via Adam’s Bridge, Palk Bay and Palk Strait between India and neighbouring Sri Lanka.
‘As of now, nearly 25 percent physical progress has been achieved. Efforts are on to expedite the execution. But meeting the October deadline does not seem possible,’ said a senior official in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (S&PI).
The ministry oversees the implementation of major central sector projects related to several fields like atomic energy, power, railways, shipping, roads and highways.
The Sethusamudram project was sanctioned in June 2005. It was the first major shipping infrastructure project Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government sanctioned after assuming office in April 2004.
The Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways is implementing the project with the active participation of Tuticorin Port Trust (TPT).
‘The delay was inevitable in view of several litigations in the Madras High Court and even the Supreme Court. Two precious years were lost in riding out all these hurdles,’ the official, who requested anonymity, told IANS.
Said a senior official of Sethusamudram Corporation Ltd (SCL): ‘The dredging is going on at the Palk Bay side. Whether the deadline is met or not depends upon the court’s (Supreme Court) final verdict.’
‘It is a good project, and will help the country in furthering trade interests. We will save a lot of time, energy and money once the channel gets operational,’ the official told IANS on phone from Chennai.
At present ships cannot use the channel, partly because of the sand stone reef called Adam’s bridge at Pamban, near Rameswaram, where the depth of the sea is hardly 11 feet.
When completed, the channel will save nearly 424 nautical miles or 785 km and around 30 hours of sailing time for ships navigating between India’s east and west coasts.
The project ran into controversy soon after the central government decided to start the work with several organisations including the country’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) opposing the channel.
They claimed that the channel would destroy the bridge now called Adam’s Bridge. The epic Ramayana says the bridge was built by the army of Lord Ram on its way to Lanka for the battle with Ravan and the rescue of Sita.
The project has also raised the hackles of some environmentalists who say the shoals form a unique ecosystem that will be destroyed by the dredging, while the sand being dredged from the spot and being dumped in the seabed elsewhere will also destroy a lot of marine life.
The centre has, however, in an affidavit to the Supreme Court termed the opposition to the project as ‘misconceived’ and ‘unsubstantiated’ and asked the court to ‘refrain from interdicting’.
http://www.sindhtoday.net/?s=sethusamudram
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Setu Project (SSCP) -- an exercise in futility (Pioneer, Sept. 7, 2008)
Setu Project (SSCP) -- an exercise in futility (Pioneer, Sept. 7, 2008)
This is supposed to be a navigation channel in mid-ocean.
Capt. Balakrishnan with considerable experience in the Indian Navy has established that this channel does not make nautical sense, that this is a nautical folly and a nautical disaster waiting to happen. Thanks to Capt. Balakrishnan for a lucid analysis and incisive presentation; it is clearly seen that the Setusamudram Corpn. will be an ab initio sick unit, be in the red to the tune of Rs. 500 crores per year in perpetuity and will be a burden on the tax-payers of India.
Why not simply scrap the Setu project and look for alternatives such as Marine Economic Zone to benefit the coastal people along 8500 kms. of Indian coastline and improve India's foreign exchange income from marine exports from a vast 200 kms. ocean zone from the Indian coast and look for effective rail-port-container coordination arrangements from Kochi port?
http://setubandha.blogspot.com/2008/09/setu-project-sscp-exercise-in-futility.html
Dr. S. Kalyanaraman
An exercise in futility
Broadsweep: Not only does the Sethusamudram project hurt religious sentiments, it also does not make economic and maritime sense. Swati Das reports on a study that emphasises the pointlessness of this controversial project
Much has been said about the distance and time the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project (SSCP) would save for mariners once the 148-year-old dream is fulfilled. But Capt (Retd) H Balakrishnan of the Indian Navy, who specialises in underwater warfare, has done a series of studies, purely on the maritime point of view.
"Time is at hand to cease thinking about sending ships in harm's way, the SSCP's way," Capt Balakrishnan said in his analysis.
The Supreme Court instructed the Centre to find an alternative to the SSCP-proposed Alignment 6, to cut through Adam's Bridge or Ramar Sethu -- Alignment 4. An expert committee headed by Dr RK Pachauri, Nobel Prize-winning head of the UN climate change committee and director-general of the New Delhi-based The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), has been formed to study the alternative alignment between Dhanushkodi and Land's End on Rameswaram Island. This is 600 yards to the west of the start of Adam's Bridge.
Assuming that the length and depth of the canal is the same for Alignment 6 and 4, Capt Balakrishnan comes up with the following observations, which may be more or less same for all proposed alignments.
· Kolkata to Tuticorin, circumnavigating Sri Lanka, is 1,380 nautical miles (nm), while via SSCP new alignment is 1005nm. Voyage time circumnavigating Sri Lanka at 12 knots comes to 115 hours (h), while via the SSCP at 12 knots in open sea (75.08h) and 8 knots through SSCP (13h) is 88.08 h. And if the speed is slower through SSCP -- 6 knots -- the total voyage time becomes 92.38h. So the distance saved is 375 nm, and time saved is 26.92h while travelling at 8 knots, and 22.62h while travelling at 6 knots. With one hour each for pilot embarkation/ disembarkation the time saved would reduce by another two hours for each.
· For fuel costs as per IOC tariffs at Chennai (on March 1, 2008) taken at an average of 1 metric ton (MT) per hour of motoring, the heavy oil (HO) would be (Rs 27,313 + 4% VAT) Rs 28,405.5 per MT. High speed diesel (HSD) (Rs 27,384 +23.43% VAT) would be 33,800 per MT.
· Fuel consumption circumnavigating Sri Lanka (HO) is 115MT, while through SSCP at 8 knots is 75.08MT of HO and 14 MT of HSD. And at 6 knots the economics is 75.08 for HO and 18.3 for HSD.
· The voyage fuel cost for circumnavigating Sri Lanka (HO) comes to Rs 32,66,632.50. Fuel costs through SSCP at 8 knots come to Rs 26,05,884.94. Navigation at 6 knots will cost Rs 27,51,224. Hence, savings in fuel costs through SSCP while travelling at 8 knots is Rs 6,60,747.56 and at 6 knots is Rs 5,15,407.56.
· The 50 per cent of cost savings for 8 knots is Rs 3,30,373.78, and for 6 knots is Rs 2,57,703.78. The SSCP Committee of Eminent Persons states that a tariff rate at 50 per cent of savings has been proposed, in base case internal rate of return (IRR), such a situation has been avoided. Based on this, the tariff to be levied per ship works out to Rs 3.89 lakhs in the first year of operation of the SSCP.
"If 50% of the fuel costs savings were to be levied as tariff for using the SSCP, then evidently the SSCP will incur a loss in its first year of operation itself and continue through the remaining years of its existence. However, if tariff rates for using the SSCP were to be brought in line with that charged by the major ports in India, then the shipping companies will incur a loss. It is therefore safe to conclude that none of the proposed alignments will prove to be economical if 50 per cent of the savings in fuel costs were to be levied as tariff," noted Capt Balakrishnan.
On navigation safety under various climatic conditions, Capt Balakrishnan found that in the waters around Rameswaram, according to the Bay of Bengal Pilot, the wind is of a swirling nature, and at the same time, on account of the Venturi effect, because of geographical location, the wind velocity tends to be high. Even a depression near the Orissa coast can create wind speeds of 55 kmph, especially at Alignment 4 where land may have to be cut.
If the winds were to blow along the axis of the proposed channel, navigating would not be hampered. But, if the winds blow across the axis of the channel, the ships will drift away from their course. The larger the ships, the more rapid the drift. The only way to check this is with speed. But speed in shallow waters can make ships run aground. Deploying tugs to counter the drift will only increase the overall voyage time, fuel consumption and fuel cost.
All the proposed alignments of the SSCP pass through fishing grounds. The high density of fishing vessels in the Rameswaram-Kachatheevu Island axis is already worrying the Navy and Coast Guard. If nets coil around the propeller shaft of a ship, it warrants emergency procedures.
During wars too, the SSCP would be a sitting duck. The LTTE even specialises in mine warfare, Capt Balakrishnan reminds us.
The SSCP is an open channel unlike the Suez and Panama canals. For a 30,000 DWT bulk carrier, approaching within 10 nautical miles of land is not considered prudent navigation when on passage. Yet, in Alignment 4, the vessel approaches within 3.5 nautical miles of the Kodandaramaswami Temple.
"From the standpoint of navigational safety, the area of location of the SSCP is a cause for disquiet. Viewed against this backdrop, one is left wondering whether this shipping channel is meant to cater to the needs of shipping in its entirety or whether shipping is meant to cater to the needs of the channel," said Capt Balakrishnan.
The six alignments
· The Sir A Ramaswamy Mudaliyar Committee in 1956 contemplated a 26 feet draft land canal across Mandapam at a cost of Rs 1.8 crore, but the idea was not feasible.
· Shipping and Transport Secretary Nagendra Singh's committee in 1964 suggested a 30 feet draft (at a cost of Rs 37.46 crore) though Rameswaram, near Thangachimadam. But dredging and other activities were considered cumbersome.
· In 1981, Development Advisor (Ports) HR Lakshminarayan's committee, considering the concerns of pilgrims, suggested an alignment farther east cutting Dhanushkodi, west of Kodandaramamasamy Temple, across the narrow land strip.
· In 1994, M/s Pallavan Transport Consultancy Services Ltd (PTCS), a State undertaking, modified the Laxminarayan Committee alignment taking it further east into Dhanushkodi.
· In February 1997, Tuticorin Port Trust, as the nodal agency for the project, and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, in the initial environmental examination (IEE) of the project, recommended an alignment east of Kothandaramasamy temple to cause least damage to the biota and the environment.
· In 2000-06, the Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project -- which was the sixth alignment -- was mooted. The alignment was more than 20 km from Shingle Island in the Gulf of Mannar near Dhanuskodi. It runs parallel to the Indo-Sri Lankan Medial Line. The total length of the channel is 167km. It is 12m deep and 300m wide at the bottom. It has two legs -- one in the north of Adam's Bridge where the average depth is only about 3 meters, and one in the Palk Strait, where the average depth is about 6 to 8m. In the Gulf of Mannar and other stretches in Palk Bay, the channel will utilise the natural depth already available. This project was inaugurated on July 2, 2005. Dredging began on December 11, 2006.
2005. Dredging began on December 11, 2006.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/agenda1.asp?main_variable=sundaypioneer%2Fassignment&file_name=assign1%2Etxt&counter_img=1
This is supposed to be a navigation channel in mid-ocean.
Capt. Balakrishnan with considerable experience in the Indian Navy has established that this channel does not make nautical sense, that this is a nautical folly and a nautical disaster waiting to happen. Thanks to Capt. Balakrishnan for a lucid analysis and incisive presentation; it is clearly seen that the Setusamudram Corpn. will be an ab initio sick unit, be in the red to the tune of Rs. 500 crores per year in perpetuity and will be a burden on the tax-payers of India.
Why not simply scrap the Setu project and look for alternatives such as Marine Economic Zone to benefit the coastal people along 8500 kms. of Indian coastline and improve India's foreign exchange income from marine exports from a vast 200 kms. ocean zone from the Indian coast and look for effective rail-port-container coordination arrangements from Kochi port?
http://setubandha.blogspot.com/2008/09/setu-project-sscp-exercise-in-futility.html
Dr. S. Kalyanaraman
An exercise in futility
Broadsweep: Not only does the Sethusamudram project hurt religious sentiments, it also does not make economic and maritime sense. Swati Das reports on a study that emphasises the pointlessness of this controversial project
Much has been said about the distance and time the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project (SSCP) would save for mariners once the 148-year-old dream is fulfilled. But Capt (Retd) H Balakrishnan of the Indian Navy, who specialises in underwater warfare, has done a series of studies, purely on the maritime point of view.
"Time is at hand to cease thinking about sending ships in harm's way, the SSCP's way," Capt Balakrishnan said in his analysis.
The Supreme Court instructed the Centre to find an alternative to the SSCP-proposed Alignment 6, to cut through Adam's Bridge or Ramar Sethu -- Alignment 4. An expert committee headed by Dr RK Pachauri, Nobel Prize-winning head of the UN climate change committee and director-general of the New Delhi-based The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), has been formed to study the alternative alignment between Dhanushkodi and Land's End on Rameswaram Island. This is 600 yards to the west of the start of Adam's Bridge.
Assuming that the length and depth of the canal is the same for Alignment 6 and 4, Capt Balakrishnan comes up with the following observations, which may be more or less same for all proposed alignments.
· Kolkata to Tuticorin, circumnavigating Sri Lanka, is 1,380 nautical miles (nm), while via SSCP new alignment is 1005nm. Voyage time circumnavigating Sri Lanka at 12 knots comes to 115 hours (h), while via the SSCP at 12 knots in open sea (75.08h) and 8 knots through SSCP (13h) is 88.08 h. And if the speed is slower through SSCP -- 6 knots -- the total voyage time becomes 92.38h. So the distance saved is 375 nm, and time saved is 26.92h while travelling at 8 knots, and 22.62h while travelling at 6 knots. With one hour each for pilot embarkation/ disembarkation the time saved would reduce by another two hours for each.
· For fuel costs as per IOC tariffs at Chennai (on March 1, 2008) taken at an average of 1 metric ton (MT) per hour of motoring, the heavy oil (HO) would be (Rs 27,313 + 4% VAT) Rs 28,405.5 per MT. High speed diesel (HSD) (Rs 27,384 +23.43% VAT) would be 33,800 per MT.
· Fuel consumption circumnavigating Sri Lanka (HO) is 115MT, while through SSCP at 8 knots is 75.08MT of HO and 14 MT of HSD. And at 6 knots the economics is 75.08 for HO and 18.3 for HSD.
· The voyage fuel cost for circumnavigating Sri Lanka (HO) comes to Rs 32,66,632.50. Fuel costs through SSCP at 8 knots come to Rs 26,05,884.94. Navigation at 6 knots will cost Rs 27,51,224. Hence, savings in fuel costs through SSCP while travelling at 8 knots is Rs 6,60,747.56 and at 6 knots is Rs 5,15,407.56.
· The 50 per cent of cost savings for 8 knots is Rs 3,30,373.78, and for 6 knots is Rs 2,57,703.78. The SSCP Committee of Eminent Persons states that a tariff rate at 50 per cent of savings has been proposed, in base case internal rate of return (IRR), such a situation has been avoided. Based on this, the tariff to be levied per ship works out to Rs 3.89 lakhs in the first year of operation of the SSCP.
"If 50% of the fuel costs savings were to be levied as tariff for using the SSCP, then evidently the SSCP will incur a loss in its first year of operation itself and continue through the remaining years of its existence. However, if tariff rates for using the SSCP were to be brought in line with that charged by the major ports in India, then the shipping companies will incur a loss. It is therefore safe to conclude that none of the proposed alignments will prove to be economical if 50 per cent of the savings in fuel costs were to be levied as tariff," noted Capt Balakrishnan.
On navigation safety under various climatic conditions, Capt Balakrishnan found that in the waters around Rameswaram, according to the Bay of Bengal Pilot, the wind is of a swirling nature, and at the same time, on account of the Venturi effect, because of geographical location, the wind velocity tends to be high. Even a depression near the Orissa coast can create wind speeds of 55 kmph, especially at Alignment 4 where land may have to be cut.
If the winds were to blow along the axis of the proposed channel, navigating would not be hampered. But, if the winds blow across the axis of the channel, the ships will drift away from their course. The larger the ships, the more rapid the drift. The only way to check this is with speed. But speed in shallow waters can make ships run aground. Deploying tugs to counter the drift will only increase the overall voyage time, fuel consumption and fuel cost.
All the proposed alignments of the SSCP pass through fishing grounds. The high density of fishing vessels in the Rameswaram-Kachatheevu Island axis is already worrying the Navy and Coast Guard. If nets coil around the propeller shaft of a ship, it warrants emergency procedures.
During wars too, the SSCP would be a sitting duck. The LTTE even specialises in mine warfare, Capt Balakrishnan reminds us.
The SSCP is an open channel unlike the Suez and Panama canals. For a 30,000 DWT bulk carrier, approaching within 10 nautical miles of land is not considered prudent navigation when on passage. Yet, in Alignment 4, the vessel approaches within 3.5 nautical miles of the Kodandaramaswami Temple.
"From the standpoint of navigational safety, the area of location of the SSCP is a cause for disquiet. Viewed against this backdrop, one is left wondering whether this shipping channel is meant to cater to the needs of shipping in its entirety or whether shipping is meant to cater to the needs of the channel," said Capt Balakrishnan.
The six alignments
· The Sir A Ramaswamy Mudaliyar Committee in 1956 contemplated a 26 feet draft land canal across Mandapam at a cost of Rs 1.8 crore, but the idea was not feasible.
· Shipping and Transport Secretary Nagendra Singh's committee in 1964 suggested a 30 feet draft (at a cost of Rs 37.46 crore) though Rameswaram, near Thangachimadam. But dredging and other activities were considered cumbersome.
· In 1981, Development Advisor (Ports) HR Lakshminarayan's committee, considering the concerns of pilgrims, suggested an alignment farther east cutting Dhanushkodi, west of Kodandaramamasamy Temple, across the narrow land strip.
· In 1994, M/s Pallavan Transport Consultancy Services Ltd (PTCS), a State undertaking, modified the Laxminarayan Committee alignment taking it further east into Dhanushkodi.
· In February 1997, Tuticorin Port Trust, as the nodal agency for the project, and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, in the initial environmental examination (IEE) of the project, recommended an alignment east of Kothandaramasamy temple to cause least damage to the biota and the environment.
· In 2000-06, the Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project -- which was the sixth alignment -- was mooted. The alignment was more than 20 km from Shingle Island in the Gulf of Mannar near Dhanuskodi. It runs parallel to the Indo-Sri Lankan Medial Line. The total length of the channel is 167km. It is 12m deep and 300m wide at the bottom. It has two legs -- one in the north of Adam's Bridge where the average depth is only about 3 meters, and one in the Palk Strait, where the average depth is about 6 to 8m. In the Gulf of Mannar and other stretches in Palk Bay, the channel will utilise the natural depth already available. This project was inaugurated on July 2, 2005. Dredging began on December 11, 2006.
2005. Dredging began on December 11, 2006.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/agenda1.asp?main_variable=sundaypioneer%2Fassignment&file_name=assign1%2Etxt&counter_img=1
Monday, September 1, 2008
Setu channel project: New alignment navigational hazard -- Capt. Balakrishnan
Setu channel project: New alignment a navigational hazard -- Capt. Balakrishnan
"New alignment unfavourable: Expert"(pp-5) by Kumar Chellappan (28 Aug. 2008, Deccan Chronicle, Chennai)
CHENNAI, AUG. 27: " The new alignment proposed for the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project (SSCP) is no better in terms of economy and environmental protection. Even after different permutations and combinations, this project is destined to be doomed because it does not make any sense", veteran navigator Captain Hariharan Balakrishnan has observed reacting to the suggestions made by the Supreme Court to the union government to find out the possibility of a new alignment for the controversial SSCP.
Capt. Balakrishnan said that the Bay of Bengal Pilot, the sailors' information handbook,which is an encyclopaedia on the Bay of Bengal, had exhaustive details about impediments to safe navigation in the area.
" The book gives a detailed account about the climatology, meteorology, wind speed, and list of ports in the region.The book says that high-speed winds keep shifting and blow from all parts of the compass.The wind in this region is of a swirling nature which can make a heavy vessel drift dangerously ", cautioned the former navy officer.
He said the geography of the ' new alignment ' was vulnerable to the infamous Venturi Effect. " High velocity winds blowing through the area which resembles a geographical funnel will make the ships drift away from their steered courses. I myself have experienced the same while commanding a ship in the area. Larger the ship the greater and more rapid will be the drift ", said Captain Balakrishnan. He said no sailor worth his salt would prefer this sea route.
He said though in normal circumstances the drift could be prevented by increasing the speed, it was not feasible in a narrow stretch of channel like SSCP.
" Yet another drawback with the new alignment is its close proximity to shore. The ships will sail at a distance of just 3.5 nautical miles from the shore which is not prudent navigation ", he pointed out.
The captain reiterated his stance that the expenditure incurred by ships sailing through the new alignment would benefit neither the ships not the SSCP.
"New alignment unfavourable: Expert"(pp-5) by Kumar Chellappan (28 Aug. 2008, Deccan Chronicle, Chennai)
CHENNAI, AUG. 27: " The new alignment proposed for the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project (SSCP) is no better in terms of economy and environmental protection. Even after different permutations and combinations, this project is destined to be doomed because it does not make any sense", veteran navigator Captain Hariharan Balakrishnan has observed reacting to the suggestions made by the Supreme Court to the union government to find out the possibility of a new alignment for the controversial SSCP.
Capt. Balakrishnan said that the Bay of Bengal Pilot, the sailors' information handbook,which is an encyclopaedia on the Bay of Bengal, had exhaustive details about impediments to safe navigation in the area.
" The book gives a detailed account about the climatology, meteorology, wind speed, and list of ports in the region.The book says that high-speed winds keep shifting and blow from all parts of the compass.The wind in this region is of a swirling nature which can make a heavy vessel drift dangerously ", cautioned the former navy officer.
He said the geography of the ' new alignment ' was vulnerable to the infamous Venturi Effect. " High velocity winds blowing through the area which resembles a geographical funnel will make the ships drift away from their steered courses. I myself have experienced the same while commanding a ship in the area. Larger the ship the greater and more rapid will be the drift ", said Captain Balakrishnan. He said no sailor worth his salt would prefer this sea route.
He said though in normal circumstances the drift could be prevented by increasing the speed, it was not feasible in a narrow stretch of channel like SSCP.
" Yet another drawback with the new alignment is its close proximity to shore. The ships will sail at a distance of just 3.5 nautical miles from the shore which is not prudent navigation ", he pointed out.
The captain reiterated his stance that the expenditure incurred by ships sailing through the new alignment would benefit neither the ships not the SSCP.
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