MV IDM DOODL – Ashok Leyland First ever transport/sell of Trucks to Bangladesh via Sea Route

M.V. IDM DOODLE, A Ro Ro cum general cargo vessel loaded with 185 trucks from Chennai Port for onward movement to Mongla Port in Bangladesh, was flagged off by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon'ble Union Minister for Shipping through Video Conference in the presence of Shri Pon.Radhakrishnan, Hon'ble Union Minister of State for Finance & Shipping at West Quay, Chennai Port Trust on 28.10.2017

MV IDM SYMEX – First Ever CARs (800 nos) moved on Indian Coastal Shipping Route (Chennai – Pipavav)

Hyundai Motor India has started using the sea route to move cars within the domestic market. The sea route is the default standard for International Transport. This is the first time it is being attempted to transport cars from one part of India to the other. As part of this initiative, Hyundai, which has its base in Chennai, shipped the first lot of 800 cars from the Chennai Port to the Pipavav Port in Gujarat. This lot contained cars meant for Western India. It normally takes 3-4 days for Hyundai to transport cars by road to Western India. The Sea Route is said to be cheaper and more 'Green' and takes ~6 days. This initiative will also result in removing sizable number of trailers off road, reduce carbon footprint and fuel consumption. The shipment was received at the Pipavav port in Gujarat on Feb 15th.

Cars waiting to be loaded into the IDM Symex

This is a part of the Government and Port Authority initiative to encourage using the coastal sea route for transporting cars. The Government has promised an incentive of Rs 3000 per car (pending approval) for cars transported using the Sea Route. Speaking to The Hindu, Chennai Port Chairman M.A. Bhaskarachar said: "To encourage the OEMs to use our services, we have announced a flat wharfage rate of Rs.500 per small car and Rs.2,000 for big cars. Also the wharfage for RoRo vessels using coastal route has been reduced by 40 per cent of normal tariff. This decision was taken within a day”. Port Trust officials are also in talks with other OEM's like Nissan and Ford to start using the shipping services. Since several manufacturers have hubs in Western India, there are talks happening to use the shipping services to transport from Western India back to Southern India. According to government estimates, a diversion of 5 per cent of cargo transportation to a waterborne mode can result in an annual saving of ₹2,000 crore and a reduction of 6 per cent in harmful chemicals and pollutants. Despite having a coastline of 7,517 km, the share of coastal shipping in India is only around 15 per cent of the local freight as against 43 per cent in the European Union