Passenger ferry services between Nagapattinam port in Tamil Nadu and Kankesanthurai port in northern Sri Lanka will restart on May 13.
The distance between these ports is approximately 64 nautical miles and the sailing time is approximately 4 hours, depending on ship speed and prevailing sea conditions.
The resumption of passenger ferry service is significant in many ways. First, it will pave the way for promoting people-to-people ties with Sri Lankan Tamils. Longtime observers of Sri Lanka’s ethnic issues believe that human connection is crucial to bridging the trust deficit with Sri Lanka’s Tamils.
Secondly, the ferry service is also important in the context of Beijing’s expanding ambitions in the island nation, including in Sri Lanka’s northern region. Observers believe that the resumption of ferry services has greater security implications for New Delhi from a geopolitical perspective.
The passenger ferry service will be operated by IndSri Ferry Services Pvt.
IndSri Holdings Pte, incorporated in Singapore, will hold 98% of IndSri Ferry Services Pvt., which will become the main ferry operator and manage the daily operations of the ferry.
S Niranjan Nanthagopan along with his family and friends are the promoters of IndSri Holdings.
The company has obtained all required permissions from the Government of India, Government of Tamil Nadu and Government of Sri Lanka to provide ferry services.
Nanthagopan said in an interview with this reporter that the plan involves an investment of US$1.5 million. Replying to a series of questions, he said IndSri Ferry Services has signed an investment partnership agreement with promoters Tiruchi-based Subham Freight Carriers India Pvt.
The company has chartered the vessel acquired from Andaman. The ship is expected to arrive on Sunday. Additionally, the maiden ferry service between Nagapattinam port in Tamil Nadu and Kankesanthurai port in northern Sri Lanka is scheduled to start on May 13.
Nanthagopan said the ferry can carry 150 people. According to him, travel costs will be nearly 50% lower than air travel costs.
In the pre-independence era, there were passenger ferry services between Tamil Nadu and northern Sri Lanka. However, this service ceased when the two countries gained independence in the late 1940s and became independent governments requiring passports and visas for travel.
After independence, passenger ferry services operated between Rameshwaram and Thalai Mannar till 1983. The project was also terminated due to ethnic violence and civil war that had plagued the island nation until 2009.
The resumption of ferry services must be read in the context of the Indian and Sri Lankan governments’ renewed interest in re-establishing maritime connectivity to boost economic development on both sides of the Palk Strait – which is only about 20 kilometers apart at its narrowest point.
New Delhi funded the reconstruction of Nagapattinam Port, carrying out much-needed dredging and building an additional passenger terminal. The Sri Lankan government has also developed Kankesanthurai to handle passenger traffic.
The passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai helps facilitate the movement of cultural and religious tourists between the two countries. Both countries have a rich cultural heritage and offer a wide range of experiences, including ancient temples and important historical sites. Ferry service could be a boon for leisure travelers. Best of all, ferry services can provide a more economically viable option for connecting family and friends between the two countries.
