Port Blair, May 08: The Member of Parliament of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Shri. Kuldeep Rai Sharma has requested the Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to order at least four vessels of 300 pax capacity and two vessels of at least 500 pax capacity for Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In a letter addressed to the Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Member of Parliament mentioned that the shipping services are the lifeline of our Islands but among the ships available at present, for far flung Islands, only two ships, namely MV Sindhu and MV Nalanda are new and providing desirable services to the people of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
He added that other ships operating in the region are comparatively very old and not in a good shape to provide service to the passengers in a desired manner.
For instance, he mentioned that MV Chowra, MV Sentinel, MV Dering and MV Bharat Seema are several decades old and in the next few years these ships will be out of service. MV Kalighat and MV Campbell are also slowly getting old, this is the reason why these ships require frequent repair and maintenance works.
The Member of Parliament added that considering this it is necessary for us to prepare ourselves for the future needs and order for new vessels now so that in the next 4 to 5 years, Andaman and Nicobar Islands can get some good ships, which can provide non-stop service to all the islands, including the remotest ones.
He added that Islanders have observed that most of the time in a year, there is a shortage of ships for remote Islands due to several reasons like annual surveys, repairs, etc. “New ships will reduce repair time, be more efficient in providing service,” he added.
Hence he requested the Lt. Governor to order at least four vessels of 300 pax capacity and two vessels of at least 500 pax capacity for Andaman and Nicobar Islands. “By doing so, in the next five years, we will have sufficient ships for efficient management of ships for remote Islands,” he added.
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