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India’s long 5560 KMS of coastline and range of ports on the east & west coast; and a large & resilient domestic economy grant a perfectly natural system for the country to build up a substantial coastal shipping industry. Shipping has always been considered a significant transport sector of national activities in India and it is perfectly suited for the transportation of bulk cargoes. Coastal shipping, as an approving mode of transport, is not only a financial necessity but also a beneficial asset in times of emergency.
India lays in geographical proximity to significant shipping routes which gives an innate advantage to the country’s shipping. Furthermore, coastal shipping is no longer a separate mode of transport but forms a part of an intermodal transport chain connecting other kinds of transport. National Shipping serves in making the country more autonomous and renders the essential strategy support in critical times.
The significant advantage of coastal shipping is to help in extending the resource base of the country by facilitating the harnessing wealth of the adjoining seawaters. The Indian shipping industry also gives support for national ship-building, ship-repairs ship-breaking, and other secondary industries and business, shipping, therefore, engenders employment both straight as well as through several ancillary activities.
What is coastal shipping?
Coastal shipping is the transport of cargo as a business and shipping within 20 nautical miles of the coastline. Coastal shipping allows ships to travel between the main ports of the country and it is helpful for domestic trade as well as transporting people within the country. Coastal shipping is relevant for transportation of containers, over-dimensional cargoes, and project cargoes, RORO cargoes such as semi-trailer trucks, cars, trucks, trailers, and railroad cars and also includes dry bulk cargoes like grain, fertilizers, steel, coal, salt, stone, scrap and minerals and Liquid bulk cargoes like oil products.
Advantages of coastal shipping
Cost savings
The primary advantage of coastal shipping is huge cost investments to the shipper and government. Freight transportation by coastal vessel is far more proficient and money-spinning than road transport and is much less prone to theft and damage. Conversely, ocean freight shipping expenses are normally four to six times less expensive than air. Hence, it is easy to claim that ocean transportation is an affordable international shipping option.
Efficiency
One of the significant advantages of coastal shipping, no matter the size of the shipments; sea freight enterprises can frequently accommodate the needs. Smaller shipments can be broadly grouped with other cargo to fill a container, permitting for co-financing of the transportation services. Huge cargo can fill one or more containers, providing shippers unmatched bulk options. Indeed, vessels are the perfect way to move high volumes of cargo as they are intended to hold a large number of goods or raw materials.
Heavy, oversized, and bulky cargo capability
A major advantage of coastal shipping is shipping enterprises’ capability to manage extra-large, weighty, or huge cargo; often categorized as breakbulk or Not in Trailer loads. Such cargo could comprise types of equipment, large vehicles, construction materials, and more. Oftentimes too weighty or huge for air freight or even over-the-road transportation, very huge cargo is not a difficulty on many shipping vessels.
Safety
Ships are developed to carry dangerous materials and hazardous cargo securely. The shipping industry is adept in the managing of such goods and has regulations in place to make sure the security of the vessel, crew, cargo, and environment. Cargo loss caused by circumstances during transportation is continually dropping as maritime protection increases and has dropped considerably in the past decade. Containers are adapted to be sealed and locked during transportation for extra safety.
Environmental friendliness
When contrasted with sea shipping, air and many alternative modes of transport have much high carbon footprints; an explicit disadvantage for the environment. On the other hand, ships render the most carbon-efficient mode of transportation and create fewer grams of tire out gas emissions for each ton of cargo transported than any other shipment method.