As Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL) is the closest port to an international shipping route, the industry wants Union govt to permit a Colombo-like crew change facility at the outer anchorage.
In Colombo, giant cargo ships and oil tankers change their crews as they sail by. This ensures a faster and cheaper way to change crew and board a fresh set of hands without sailing into a port.
In Vizhinjam, crew changes can happen at the new Vizhinjam transshipment port and the smaller port handled by the Kerala Maritime Board, or at the outer anchorage. At the moment, VISL port authorities are focusing on transshipment.
“The economics are right for Vizhinjam. All they need is enough personnel for immigration and customs, who are going to be there, because cargo ships are going to come in. The ships that come to unload and pick up containers can do crew changes, but other ships cannot without approval. They will continue to prefer Colombo, which is cheaper and faster,” said Capt Sanjay Prashar, a former member of the National Shipping Board. The opportunity is huge for the local economy.
Several taxis or buses are needed, and the crew who fly in from abroad and other parts of the country will use the city airport and will also stay in hotels.
He added that it was easier to do the exercise, which is also beneficial to the local businesses because Vizhinjam was a hub of crew change during the pandemic.
“More than 340 ships changed their crew in a year when there was hardly any infrastructure. Still, they did it.” Govt earned around Rs 20 crore without tourism itself because there were quarantine restrictions, he added. Sources said that the VISL is
for crew change, provided the ship docks. But industry insiders say that it’s faster and easier to do it within the anchorage.
Vizhinjam Steamer Agents Association secretary Jude Sajith D’Cruz said, “In India, Vizhinjam is the best place to do this because at all ports, ships have to divert from the route to reach the outer anchorage itself.”
Usually ships don’t come to berth for crew change because it would lead to berth charges. “It will be helpful for all ships that pass by to change crew without deviating from the route,” said Capt Amresh Jha of Kanoo Shipping India Pvt Ltd. Prashar said that the crew change as an opportunity does not figure in the Sagar Mala project either. D’Cruz said, “We have approached the court.”