Staff Correspondent
Port Blair, Feb 01: In a surprise development, the Directorate of Shipping Services of the UT Administration has initiated steps to commission a passenger vessel which served for over four decades in the Lakshdweep Islands.
According to reports, the Shipping Department is currently awaiting the approval of the Govt. of India for pressing the Ro- Ro type passenger vessel ‘MV Bharat Seema’ into service in these islands. The move is, however, likely to draw further flak for DSS which has been facing extreme criticism for its archaic flotilla of passenger and cargo vessels.
As per reports, 1973 built, M V Bharat Seema has served the Lakshadweep Islands for the last 40 years but now Lakshadweep has got a brand new vessel called MV Coral.
After the Ministry of Shipping sought the opinion of the DSS for Book Transfer of MV Bharat Seema into the local fleet, the DSS reportedly confirmed interest in inducting the vessel.
But the move has reportedly not gone well within local circles as DSS has been marred with an old fleet of vessels for long. “How can the top brass of the Administration justify the move of inducting a 40 year old vessel in the DSS fleet. The Shipping Department with its outmoded fleet of vessels has facing ire of the public for poor delivery of services. Instead of procuring new vessels, the DSS instead has opted to induct decades old vessel in its fleet,” said some locals.
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