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Given its many advantages, including cost and limited impact on the environment, the Union government is keen to reinvigorate the coastal shipping sector which has never really picked up over the years.
Now, it has come out with a number of initiatives to facilitate the development of coastal shipping. Key among them are asking Major Ports to consider introducing green channel for coastal cargo and priority berthing for coastal vessels, exempting Customs and Central Excise duty on bunker fuels used by coastal vessels carrying exim cargo or empty containers or domestic cargo between two ports in India, and bringing abatement of service tax at 70 per cent for coastal shipping at par with road and rail.
Besides, financial assistance up to 75 per cent is available for construction of exclusive berths for coastal vessels, and relaxation of cabotage has been done for roll-on roll-off, hybrid roll-on roll-off, RoRo-cum-passenger vessels, etc.
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