Thiruvananthapuram: As per Mr. Reegesh Ramakrishnan ( Chief Executive officer of M/S Walter Cuminns Shipping Services an leading steamer agency company having offices in Gujarat, West Bengal , Andhra Pradesh , Kerala and outside the country) “Vizhinjam seaport of Kerala has lot more potential, ten times at least that we see and experience today, there lot of untouched areas like, ship repairs & maintenance, under water surveys, bunkering, spare delivery, container terminals with well-equipped supporting systems and lot more.. This naturally gifted seaport have 20-24meter draft with minimal littoral drift, where the bigger vessels can come in easily and depart. if we more focus, plan and execute this seaport will be one among the best revenue generator for the Kerala government in future. Bigger vessels like VLCC, ULCC and others still reluctant to call Vizhinjam port due to its high Anchorage dues , the anchorages dues should be charged on slab basis, say max $500-$750/-. Some countries are not even charging these dues, for this reason many ship operators, ship owners and crew management companies not preferring Vizhinjam port and our opportunities are distributed mainly to UAE, Sri Lanka , Singapore and others. There also other factors like Onboarding of Technicians, Class Surveyors / Surveyors, Superintendents and Crew Changes at OPL is not permitted both for Indian and foreign nationals” . We have look for more boarder concept, if we need to be favorite international crew change destination , the above factors are basic and most essentials. We had addressed this issues to CM’s office and hopefully will have a positive response shortly.”
