Transport department to launch 2 catamaran ferries today in Ernakulam

KOCHI: The state water

transport department

(SWTD) will

launch

two

catamaran ferries

in

Ernakulam

on Monday. The catamarans, constructed at a cost of Rs 1.9 crore each, will soon operate between Ernakulam and

Fort Kochi

by replacing the existing steel boats.

Though the official launch of the catamarans is on Monday, their service will start only after securing permission from the Cochin Port.

A private agency at Aroor is currently constructing five more similar catamarans to be operated in the route. The agency is expected to release one boat each every one-and-a-half month this year.

Each fibre catamaran, with double hulls and double engines, has 100 seats. The vessels will also have two bio-toilets. Since the catamarans will be able to travel faster than the existing boats, the crew will get enough time for breaks between two trips.

“The

catamaran

runs on battery and has a generator. If any ship or other obstruction comes in front of it, the catamaran can be stopped suddenly and turn around without reversing. The existing boats have only single engine and single hull. If anything gets caught in the engine of the boat, it comes to a standstill and a rescue boat is used to tug it to the jetty,” said a SWTD official in Ernakulam

A trial run of the new vessel was conducted on Saturday by the SWTD. Each vessel is 20-m-long and 7-m-wide, which can gain speed up to seven nautical miles.

The existing ticket fare will continue in the catamarans too.

Currently, ferry service to Mattancherry has been discontinued due to sludge in the river bed near the jetty. PWD irrigation department is yet to start drudging in the area marked.

Five boats of SWTD operate in Ernakulam alone. On busy days during the pre-Covid period, additional boats used to conduct service. One boat used to operate along the Mulavukadu, Varapuzha and Vyttila-Kakkanad stretch.

However, service to Varapuzha was suspended due to shortage of passengers following the Covid pandemic. This service is now conducted only for school students during exam time.