Kerala welcomes Centre's decision to relax Cabotage laws

The Cabinet had yesterday approved relaxation of the Cabotage policy under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, for transshipment of export-import containers to and from ICTT at Vallarpadam. This relaxation in Cabotage policy will be subject to a review after three years.

"This is a big boost not only to Vallapadram, but for the entire Kerala. We thank the Centre for that, especially Shipping Minister G K Vasan and Union ministers from Kerala who took up the state's case convincingly," Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told reporters.

He said the decision would also help the prospects of the proposed Vizhinjam Port, for which the state has been on the look out for an operating partner.

While Cabotage is the transport of goods between two points in the same country, Transshipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination.

Kerala has been pressing for this for quite some time as the existing rules did not allow foreign vessels to operate feeder services to move containers brought by mother ships to other ports in the country.

Under the present rules foreign ships could not engage in coastal trade in India except under a licence from the Directorate General (Shipping).

This had come in the way of mainline foreign vessels calling at ICTT, Vallarpadam, constricting it realising its full potential since its commissioning about three years back.