Passenger vessels to be acquired for Lakshadweep

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep (UTL) Administration for acquisition of two 400 Passenger Vessels at an indicative cost of Rs360 crore.
The approval has been given with aim of mitigating the transport difficulties experienced by the people of Union Territory of Lakshadweep. These vessels will be deployed in the Mainland-Lakshadweep sector providing passenger service between Kochi / Mainland and islands in Lakshadweep.
Shipping is the life line of the people of the Island. The UTL Administration has only three all weather vessels namely M.V. Kavaratti, M.V. Tipu Sultan and M.V. Bharat Seema. Out of these three all weather vessels, two vessels, namely M.V. Tipu Sultan and M.V. Bharat Seema have outlived their economic life and urgently need to be phased out.
There has been demand from the Islanders for providing adequate number of passenger ships for proper inter-island and island-mainland and vice-versa connectivity and to improve shipping services in the Lakshadweep group of islands which is the only viable transport system in these islands.