Subject to the required approvals, M2M Ferries is getting ready to start a Mumbai-Goa RoPAX ferry service that will enable passengers to travel with their cars in 6.5 hours.
The business is in the process of obtaining the necessary permits to start operations after purchasing a RoPAX vessel, a roll-on, roll-off passenger ferry that can carry both people and cars.
Sail From Mumbai To Goa With Your Car: M2M Ferries To Start A Mumbai-Goa RoPAX Ferry
Currently, M2M Ferries operates daily Ro-Ro services between Mumbai and Mandwa, the entry point to Alibag in the Raigad district of Maharashtra.
“We have a new vessel – a 15-year-old, second-hand vessel – that we have brought from Italy. The vessel is in dry dock in Mumbai and will be out next month,” said an M2M Ferries official.
The business has applied to the Director General of Shipping and other regulatory bodies for approval.
Ferry Wharf in Mazgaon, Mumbai, to the Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) in Goa is the intended route for the Mumbai-Goa RoPAX service.
As per the official, “We are in talks with the Government of Goa to also allow our vessel to dock at a jetty at Panaji, as MPA is near Vasco, which is some distance from Panaji and Margao.”
The fare structure has not yet been finalized, but the ship can accommodate 60 cars and 620 passengers.
Application Su
“We have submitted our application to the DG, Shipping. Mumbai-Goa is a competitive market. It would be great of the central government offered us subsidies in VAT on fuel and tax concessions.” stated Devika Saigal of M2M Ferries.
M2M Ferries’ Application Is Being Processed
According to Shyam Jagannathan, Director General of Shipping, M2M Ferries’ application is “being processed.”
Chief ship surveyor Pradeep Sudhakar stated, “We have cleared what was submitted to us. The papers are now with the Indian Register of Shipping.”
A comparable ferry service already operates between Hazira and Ghogha in Gujarat, so the Mumbai-Goa RoPAX service won’t be the first of its kind in India.
Between Ferry Wharf in Mumbai and Mandwa, M2M Ferries currently runs three daily Ro-Ro services, with the number of trips increasing to five on weekends.
The luxury cruise liner Cordelia Cruises currently runs between Mumbai and Goa; the cruise liner ‘Angriya’ used to operate on this route but was shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A hovercraft service operated by Damania Shipping from Ferry Wharf to Panaji in the 1990s left Mumbai at 6 am, reached Goa by 1:30 pm, and then returned at night.
Along the Raigad coast, south of Mumbai, the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) is building Ro-Ro jetties at Kashid, Revdanda, and Dighi.
According to MMB CEO Pradeep P, these jetties will be completed in roughly 18 months, allowing for more Ro-Ro services in the area.
He also mentioned plans to establish a Ro-Ro service to connect the future industrial town at Dighi. “The Ro-Ro operator has a second vessel and can operate on this sector too,” he added.
