Linking Dharamtar Port in Maharashtra and Kerala ports, the Kochi based Trans Asian Shipping Service is introducing a new fortnightly coastal shipping service.

The company is deploying MV Karuthal – a 2009 built multi purpose container vessels – for its Indian Minor Port Service (IMPS). Hitherto, the 1600 tonne capacity ship with the capacity to carry 94 containers was operating on the Jebel Ali-Doha sector as a foreign flag vessels.

The IMPS will be the ship’s maiden trip after it was converted into the Indian flag, a regulatory requirement for ships to ply on local routes in India carrying cargo under Cabotage Law.

According to Johnson Mathew, Chairman and Managing Director of Trans Asian Shipping Services, the vessel would carry tiles, steel coils and general cargo from Dharamtar to Kerala and on the return leg, the shipping company is looking at cargo such as tyres, latex and coir products.

Initially, the service will be fortnightly with duration of 12-13 days for a round trip, but the company hopes to convert it into a weekly one depending on the demand and requirements of the trade/end users, Mathew said. The Mumbai-Kochi sector is a market predominantly controlled by truckers. With BS IV emission norms coming into force, there is an increase of around Rs 5,000 in truck rentals on the Mumbai-Kochi route, he added.

The ship has a draft of 3.2 metres making it ideal to run between India’s minor ports, which has low depth.