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The all-weather
passenger ship, m.v. Kavaratti, built for the
Lakshadweep administration by Hindustan
Shipyard, Visakhapatnam, will make its maiden
voyage to the islands in the first week of
August, 2008.
The Rs.173-crore ship, the largest passenger
vessel ever built in India, is
120 Meter long and has a speed of 17 Knots. The
ship can carry 700 passengers and 200 tons of
cargo. The
ship has world-class facilities like a
152-seater cafeteria, 100-seater dining hall,
Recreation room, gymnasium and a very large airspace
to enhance passenger convenience on-board. The
ship is fully Air conditioned by centralized
air-conditioning system and has been built to
world class standards.
 Ship
facilities include three independent Galleys,
Halls, Recreation place with a swimming pool and
helipad. The ship has 200 first class seats and
200 second classes.
The ship was designed and built by Hindustan
Shipyard Ltd (HSL) located in the port city of
Visakhapatnam on the East coast of India. HSL is
a fully owned Government of
India Undertaking, under the Administrative
control of the Ministry of Shipping, Road and
Highways.
According to Rear Admiral Ajit Tewari, the HSL
Chairman and Managing Director,
“M.V.Kavaratti is a fine piece of work created
by our workforce. This is the first of its kind
built by any yard in the country with own
designing. The vessel has 300 km of wiring and
50 km of pipeline with delicate craftsmanship
which typify the scale in which it has been
built.” [View
Enlarged Ship Image (226 KB) Here]
The ship and its size and ability, for which the
islanders had clamoured for nearly two decades,
is expected to ease transportation problems of
rough seas especially during the monsoon. The
ship is being scheduled to ferry the passengers
between the islands and the mainland at Kochi.
Ship Based
Tourism, Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep is one of the worlds most
spectacular tropical island systems. Thirty- two
sq. km of land spread over 36 islands surrounded
by 4200 sq. km of lagoon rich in marine wealth.
The precious heritage of ecology and culture is
supported by an extremely fragile ecosystem.
Though all the islands are endowed with the
beauty of coral reef, sandy beaches, unpolluted
and clear water and hospitable settings, most of
these differ in terms of facilities and services
offered. The islands are forced to support
independent infrastructure and amenities and
import almost all requirements to develop such
facilities besides items of daily need.
The thrust is on promoting ship based tourism at
affordable rates and the administration's
efforts in the regard have met with great
success. The operation of passenger ships
requires rigorous monitoring of facilities on
board, embarkation at Kochi and disembarkation
at the islands. The facilities onboard require
regular upkeep especially toilets, cabins,
lounges that add great deal of pressure. The
embarkation is now a temporary arrangement by
Cochin Port and a special gangway is on anvil
for Lakshadweep ships ; the disembarkation also
has to be organised on the high sea, as the ship
cannot enter the lagoon. The passengers are
transferred on small boats and brought to the
island jetty, which is a cumbersome exercise
requiring great deal of monitoring and
supervision.
The boats, vessels and ships of Lakshadweep
Administration especially of Lakshadweep tourism
carry the names of Island territories having
great ecological value. Some of the names are MV
Tinnakara, MT Suheli.
Tinnakara and
Suheli are uninhabited islands in Lakshadweep
archipelago and are known for their outstanding
beauty and bio-diversity. Naming the vessels as
above carries the message of ecology for all the
tourists as well as islanders.
(Ship
Schedule & Rates will be updated soon. ..More) |
