Ropax shipping

More information:

The service between Hazira and Ghogha will be flagged off through video conferencing.
The Ro-Pax Terminal being inaugurated at Hazira is 100 meters in length and 40 metres in width.
The terminal has wide ranging facilities, including an administrative office building, a parking area, a substation and a water tower.
The Ro-Pax Ferry Vessel ‘Voyage Symphony’ is a three-deck vessel.
It has a load capacity of 30 trucks on the main deck, 100 passenger cars on the upper deck and 500 passengers.

Importance of the project:

It gives a boost to efforts to harness waterways and integrate them with the economic development of the country.
It will work as a gateway to South Gujarat and the Saurashtra region.
It will reduce the distance between Ghogha and Hazira from 370 km to 90 km.
The reduced cargo travel time from 10 to 12 hours to about four hours will result in huge savings of fuel and lower the maintenance cost of vehicles drastically.
It will reduce fatigue of truck drivers and enhance their incomes by giving them more opportunity to do extra trips.
It will give an impetus to the tourism industry with ease of access to the Saurashtra region and lead to creation of new job opportunities.
With the onset of ferry services, the port sector, furniture and fertilizer industries in Saurashtra and Kutch region will get a big boost.
Eco-tourism and religious-tourism in Gujarat, especially in Porbandar, Somnath, Dwarka and Palitana will grow exponentially.
The benefits of enhanced connectivity through this ferry service will result in increased inflow of tourists in the famous Asiatic lion wildlife sanctuary at Gir, Gujarat.

About ROPAX:

ROPAX is an acronym for roll on/roll off a passenger.
It is a RORO vessel built for freight vehicle transport with passenger accommodation.
It is used for short sea transport.
They are used to carry wheeled cargo such as cars, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle, such as a self-propelled modular transporter.
RORO vessels have either built-in or shore-based ramps or ferry slips that allow the cargo to be efficiently rolled on and off the vessel when in port.