Port Blair Aug. 21: Reacting to media reports regarding changes of ship schedule the Deputy Director of Shipping Services today said that the contentions are made in the news articles that ships of this Directorate are being scheduled without completing survey is not true as all the departmental vessels plying in the foreshore sector are governed under the Merchant shipping Act and are surveyed and certified by the local MMD Surveyor and no ship plies without obtaining clearance from MMD Surveyors / possessing necessary certification.
Further, amendments in the promulgated shipping schedule are sometimes inevitable due to various unforeseen circumstances like technical failures, adverse weather conditions etc. but whenever such amendments are made, the DSS makes all efforts to disseminate the changes to general public through all available mediums such as press release, announcements through radio and doordarshan and even through local cable channels.
In the instant case also the vessel MV Chouldari scheduled to Diglipur on 28.06.2014 had to be cancelled due to Administrative reasons but which was substituted by a larger capacity vessel MV Dering to Diglipur on 27.06.2014. The above changes were notified through press release viz. “Seva Suchanayein” in the Daily Telegram well in advance on the 24th June 2014 and were also announced on the radio and doordarshan on 25th June 2014.
This Directorate has also recently introduced the SMS system of updating passengers on the ship schedule status. The system has in the first phase been introduced in the Mainland and inter island sectors and very soon will be implemented in the foreshore sector also. Passengers are therefore requested to ensure that they provide their correct cell numbers to the Directorate staff whilst purchasing their tickets, to be able to be informed about the changes in the schedule through the SMS services, in a quick manner.
