Third Ro-Ro vessel in Fort Kochi-Vypeen sector likely to be ready next month

Kochi: Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), which is constructing third Ro-Ro vessel for Kochi corporation, is expected to hand over the vessel to local body in May. Corporation authorities are planning to commission the vessel immediately after CSL hands it over to local body.Dry docking of two vessels, which are plying in Fort Kochi-Vypeen sector, for periodical maintenance work is pending. "Once we get new vessel, we will be able to press it into service and send one of the old vessels for dry docking," sources with corporation said.Corporation allotted Rs 18 crore for construction of the third Ro-Ro, contract for which was signed between corporation and CSL on Nov 13, 2024.Meanwhile, corporation is yet to take a final decision on whether the contract of Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC), which now operates the existing Ro-Ro vessels on behalf of the civic body, be scrapped or not. Corporation council held in the second week of March authorised officials with local body's engineering wing to seek legal opinion regarding scrapping the agreement with KSINC. Local body has decided to hold an all-party meeting and discuss the report to be prepared by corporation secretary in this regard. "Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development (C-hed), an arm of corporation, may be entrusted with the task of floating a special purpose vehicle (SPV) so that local body's SPV itself can operate the vessels. Otherwise, corporation can invite competitive tenders and find a firm to run the vessels," sources with corporation said.This move comes in the wake of corporation planning to entrust a new agency with operations of Ro-Ro vessels. Earlier auditors had found mismatches in the accounts of operating the vessels submitted by KSINC.