Post-lockdown: Ro-ro operators re-think operations, schedule

Launched just a few days before the Maharashtra government announced a lockdown in the state owing to the Covid-19 outbreak, the roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) services

Launched just a few days before the Maharashtra government announced a lockdown in the state owing to the Covid-19 outbreak, the roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) services operators are now re-thinking ferry schedules, price and operating times once it opens post-lockdown.

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Mumbai’s ro-ro services between city’s Ferry Wharf and Mandwa in Alibaug was launched on March 15. The large passenger-vehicle transport ship can carry 145 vehicles and 500 passengers at one-go. M2M Ferries Private Limited (MFLP), the operators, is now surveying to understand travel patterns in the coming months.

A spokesperson from MFLP said, “A lot has changed since the outbreak and lockdown. While we have seen a rapid increase in travel demand between Mumbai and Alibaug in the last five years, we want to understand what will be the utility in the monsoon.”

During the launch, it was estimated that MFLP along with the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) will run two services to and from Mandwa for a month initially, which will be increased to six trips, during the monsoon.

“We are expecting people to use it for a quick getaway post lockdown. We are also working on our standard-operating-procedures to adhere to social distancing norms,” the spokesperson added.

The 19-km sea-route between Mumbai and Mandwa by the ro-ro is covered in an hour instead of four hours taken to cover the 113 km distance by road. The M2M1 ship, which can travel at a speed of 15 knots, arrived from Greece in the city on February 14.