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Water Transportation
In a bid to decongest Mumbai, the Maharashtra government is planning to develop sea routes with water taxi services in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), a state minister has said. A detailed project report (DPR) for this has been prepared, Ports Minister Nitesh Rane told PTI here on Tuesday. 'We have seen the success of Mumbai Metro. On those lines, we will be starting water taxis in the MMR. We have already identified eight to nine routes," he said. "We have the DPR and are speaking to international consultants," the minister said. The government will also introduce 30-seater electric vessels from the Gateway of India to Alibaug and the Elephanta Island, he said. Rane said 15 vessels are being procured from Candela Cruise, a Swedish company, and two of them will arrive in August. The vessels will reduce pollution and provide the public transport service with affordable rates. It will be managed by the Maharashtra Maritime Board, he said. The existing wooden boats can contin
Ride-hailing app Uber has launched its first water transport service in India, with a booking of a shikara at Dal Lake in Srinagar through its app, a senior company official said on Monday. The company introduced the first service of its kind in Asia. "Uber Shikara is our humble attempt to blend technology and tradition to give a seamless experience to travellers for their shikara ride. We are proud to create this iconic experience enhancing accessibility and uplifting tourism in the breathtaking landscape of Kashmir," Uber India and South Asia, President, Prabhjeet Singh said. An Uber spokesperson confirmed that Uber's water transport service in India is also the first in Asia. Uber offers water transport booking in some of the European countries including Venice in Italy. In India, the company has initially onboarded seven shikaras and plans to gradually expand the fleet based on the service's traction. Uber users will be able to book shikara at government-determined rates. Th
Witnesses testified that the company that operated an experimental deep-water submersible that imploded, killing five people, put profits over safety and ignored warning signs before the disaster. Several company officials, meanwhile, spoke of the explorer spirit and taking calculated risks to push humankind's boundaries. Those different viewpoints emerged as the Coast Guard panel on Friday wraps up two weeks of testimony on the Titan disaster last year. The panel is tasked with determining why the carbon-fibre submersible was lost 12,500 feet (3,810 metres) deep on the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic. Testimony painted contrasting images of greed and hubris as OceanGate sought out well-heeled clients for its submersible made from carbon fibre a material that was untested at such depths versus modern-day explorers who carefully considered risks as they sought to open the deepest depths of the world's oceans to more people. Guillermo Sohnlein, who helped found OceanGate .
An oil tanker held by Iran for over a year after being seized amid tensions between Tehran and the United States reached international waters on Thursday, tracking data showed. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Advantage Sweet travelled through the Strait of Hormuz, where it was seized in April 2023 by Iran's navy while carrying USD 50 million worth of oil from Kuwait for Chevron Corp. The strait is the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 per cent of the world's oil passes. Tracking data analysed by The Associated Press showed the Advantage Sweet had been unloaded while in Iranian custody and that the vessel listed as its destination Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates, which has been the first port of call for other ships leaving Iranian detention. Iran did not acknowledge the ship's departure. It came after an Iranian court earlier on Thursday ordered the US government to pay more than USD 6.7 billion in compensation over a Swedish company stopping its supply o
Eight Indian crew members of the cargo ship 'Dali' that crashed into a famed Baltimore bridge in March left for India on Friday after nearly three months on the mammoth vessel. According to Baltimore Maritime Exchange, four of the 21 crew members are still on board the 984-foot cargo ship MV Dali, which is tentatively scheduled to leave Friday evening for Norfolk, Virginia. The rest of the crew has been moved to a service apartment in Baltimore and will remain there pending an investigation. Notably, 20 of the crew members were Indian nationals. They were on board the MV Dali Cargo, which struck the pillars of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge resulting in its collapse and the death of six construction workers in the tragic incident. Dali will undergo repair at Norfolk. The departure of eight Indian crew members including a cook, a fitter and seamen follows a deal approved by the judge. None of these are officers. The rest 13 would remain in the US, mainly because of the pendin
The Indian ship recycling industry will see revenue growth of 15 per cent this fiscal after two years of decline, Crisil ratings said on Thursday. The rating agency said the growth will be supported by the increased availability of ageing vessels for recycling due to addition of new vessel capacity globally and higher competitiveness of Indian ship recyclers compared to key rival nations -- Bangladesh and Pakistan. "The Indian ship recycling industry will see revenue growth of 15 per cent this fiscal after two years of decline -- 22 per cent in fiscal 2024 and 8.5 per cent in fiscal 2023," it said. According to the rating agency, the increased availability of ageing vessels will bring down input cost for ship recyclers. "This, along with higher capacity utilization leading to better efficiency, will improve operating profitability by 75 basis points (bps) to 6.5 per cent this fiscal," it said. Crisil ratings said higher cash generation and absence of capital expenditure (capex), a
The container ship that caused the deadly collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge is scheduled to be refloated on Monday and moved to a nearby marine terminal. The Dali has remained at the collapse site since it lost power and crashed into one of the bridge's supporting columns on March 26, killing six construction workers and snarling traffic into Baltimore Harbour. High tide Monday morning is expected to bring the best conditions for crews to start refloating and transit work on the ship, according to a statement from the Key Bridge Response Unified Command. Up to five tugboats will escort the Dali on its 2.5-mile (4-kilometre) path to the marine terminal. The work is expected to last at least 21 hours. Crews conducted a controlled demolition on May 13 to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed bridge. The Dali experienced four electrical blackouts within about 10 hours before leaving the Port of Baltimore for Sri Lanka and hitting the bridge, according t
After weeks of preparation, crews are scheduled to conduct a controlled demolition Sunday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland, which came crashing down under the impact of a massive container ship on March 26. Of the crew members, 20 are from India and one is Sri Lankan. The steel span landed on the ship's bow after the Dali lost power and crashed into one of the bridge's support columns shortly after leaving Baltimore. Since then, the ship has been stuck among the wreckage and Baltimore's busy port has been closed to most maritime traffic. Six members of a roadwork crew plunged to their deaths in the collapse. The last of their bodies was recovered from the underwater wreckage earlier this week. All the victims were Latino immigrants who came to the U.S. for job opportunities. They were filling potholes on an overnight shift when the bridge was destroyed. The controlled demolition will allow the Dali to be refloated and ..
Maryland plans to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in just over four years at an estimated cost between USD 1.7 billion and USD 1.9 billion, a state transportation official said Thursday. The state plans to build a new span by fall of 2028, said David Broughton, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Transportation. He said the cost estimate is preliminary, and detailed engineering specifics have not been confirmed. As salvage efforts continue, authorities also announced late Wednesday they had recovered the body of a fifth person who was missing after the bridge's March 26 collapse, which shut down the port of Baltimore, one of the busiest ports in the country. Six members of a roadwork crew plunged to their deaths when a container ship lost power and crashed into one of the bridge's supporting columns. The Key Bridge Response Unified Command announced that the victim found Wednesday was identified as Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, 49, of Glen Burnie, Maryland. All of the .
At the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, crews plan to refloat and remove the grounded Dali container ship within roughly the next 10 days, allowing more maritime traffic to resume through Baltimore's port. The ship, which lost power and crashed into one of the bridge's supporting columns, has been stationary amid the wreckage since the March 26 collapse. Officials expect to have it removed by May 10, according to a news release Tuesday from the Port of Baltimore. Six members of a roadwork crew plunged to their deaths in the disaster. Four bodies have been recovered while two remain missing. Crews have identified areas of interest where they believe the bodies could be, but they've been unable to access them so far, Maryland State Police Superintendent Roland Butler said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon. We're working in generalisations of areas where we think they should be, based on sonar images and other mapping techniques, he said. Officials declined to
A wooden cross is laden with Miguel Luna's personal belongings his construction uniform and work boots, a family photo, the flag of his native El Salvador but his body remains missing after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. More than a month has passed since six members of a roadwork crew plunged to their deaths when a container ship lost power and crashed into one of the bridge's supporting columns. Four bodies have been recovered, but Luna and another worker, Jose Mynor Lopez, have not been found. They were all Latino immigrants who came to the United States from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. They were fathers and husbands, brothers and grandfathers. They shared a common dream and a determination to achieve it. In an effort to honour their lives and their work, Baltimore County's close-knit Latino community has constructed an elaborate memorial near the south end of the bridge. It includes decorated wooden crosses, a painted canvas backdrop, bunches of