[Rajeevraj]

Hyundai Motor India has started using the sea route to move cars within the domestic market. The sea route is the default standard for International Transport. This is the first time it is being attempted to transport cars from one part of India to the other.

As part of this initiative, Hyundai, which has its base in Chennai, shipped the first lot of 800 cars from the Chennai Port to the Pipavav Port in Gujarat. This lot contained cars meant for Western India. It normally takes 3-4 days for Hyundai to transport cars by road to Western India. The Sea Route is said to be cheaper and more 'Green' and takes ~6 days. This initiative will also result in removing sizable number of trailers off road, reduce carbon footprint and fuel consumption. The shipment was received at the Pipavav port in Gujarat on Feb 15th.

Cars waiting to be loaded into the IDM Symex

This is a part of the Government and Port Authority initiative to encourage using the coastal sea route for transporting cars. The Government has promised an incentive of Rs 3000 per car (pending approval) for cars transported using the Sea Route. Speaking to The Hindu, Chennai Port Chairman M.A. Bhaskarachar said: "To encourage the OEMs to use our services, we have announced a flat wharfage rate of Rs.500 per small car and Rs.2,000 for big cars. Also the wharfage for RoRo vessels using coastal route has been reduced by 40 per cent of normal tariff. This decision was taken within a day”. Port Trust officials are also in talks with other OEM's like Nissan and Ford to start using the shipping services. Since several manufacturers have hubs in Western India, there are talks happening to use the shipping services to transport from Western India back to Southern India. According to government estimates, a diversion of 5 per cent of cargo transportation to a waterborne mode can result in an annual saving of ₹2,000 crore and a reduction of 6 per cent in harmful chemicals and pollutants. Despite having a coastline of 7,517 km, the share of coastal shipping in India is only around 15 per cent of the local freight as against 43 per cent in the European Union


The vessel used for the transportation IDM Symex belongs to a Singapore-based Symex Maritine Inc and carried 800 Hyundai cars for its trip from Chennai to Gujarat. The vessel will ferry on fortnight bases and has the capacity to carry around 2,000 vehicles in a single journey. Permitted by DG shipping, the IDM Symex can use Indian waters for the next five years.

The IDM Symex is a "Ro-Ro" Vessel, which means "Roll On-Roll Off". Unlike typical ships where cranes are used to load and unload, A Ro-Ro ship has ramps through which vehicles can be driven in and out in quick time.

Representative Image of a Ro-Ro ship in action

Source: Hindu

[airbender]

Good move. They should also start using inland waterways. Results in cost savings and reduces pollution.

[swiftnfurious]

While we talk about a lot of knee-jerk reactions and stupid enforcements, such initiatives comes across as pleasant surprise. While the "number # 1" (Maruti) chooses rail in order to move vehicles, number # 2 chooses, ship!

Am quite happy with the authorities taking quick decisions while the red tape can cause significance delay even for silly things. I really hope other manufacturers too come up with something innovative or even form a group to work out something that can help them reduce cost / improve "green" values.

While they take the Hyundai cars to Gujarat, I hope the other manufacturers can use the vessel to transport their vehicles back to Chennai. I really hope they can also extend the service to other ports in Kochi / Mumbai etc and unload a massive set every fortnight or so, for delivery(if it makes financial sense).

[TD_GHY]

Good initiative. If implemented by other car and bike manufacturers and other industrial sectors as well, will help in getting a lot of trucks off the roads - reduced congestion, pollution and hopefully accidents.

[wanderer4x4]

Any idea about how they'd transport the cars to the dealerships? Hope not by the dealership drivers. Imagine those new cars being ripped around the highways by those nonsensical morons.

While I support this initiative and like to see waterways develope, but at present the infrastructure does not seem to be in place for scaling this up. It would be a logistical nightmare to move vehicles from the port to the hinterland.
Anyways, it's good that at least some positive things are happening in the waterways front.

[MunnabhaiMBBS]

Originally Posted by wanderer4x4

Any idea about how they'd transport the cars to the dealerships? Hope not by the dealership drivers. Imagine those new cars being ripped around the highways by those nonsensical morons.

Broadly,

The Conventional Way:

A = Factory
B = Dealership

Conventional way = A -- Trailer (Road) ---> B

Now:

A = Factory
B = Shipping port
C = Landing port
D = Dealership

Now = A --- Trailer (Road) ---> B --- (Cargo Vessel) ---> C ---Trailer (Road) ---> D

Govt should gear up for another Andolan by the Trailer owners association in future

[phoenixash]

Originally Posted by wanderer4x4

Any idea about how they'd transport the cars to the dealerships? Hope not by the dealership drivers. Imagine those new cars being ripped around the highways by those nonsensical morons.

While I support this initiative and like to see waterways develope, but at present the infrastructure does not seem to be in place for scaling this up. It would be a logistical nightmare to move vehicles from the port to the hinterland.
Anyways, it's good that at least some positive things are happening in the waterways front.

Generally the auto manufacturers have third-party logistics (3PL) players who take care of this for them. So delivery to the dealerships will still be via trailers run by these 3PLs.

Actually infrastructure from ports has improved significantly, especially from the non-major ports like Pipavav & Mundra which are privately run and have laid roads / rail tracks connecting these ports to major highways and railway hubs.

[wanderer4x4]

Originally Posted by MunnabhaiMBBS

Now = A --- Trailer (Road) ---> B --- (Cargo Vessel) ---> C ---Trailer (Road) ---> D

That's what I wanted to convey. With multiple handling of the cars at various points, the risk increases.

Moreover, with short hop trips, don't know whether it'd be cost effective for the manufacture / trailer owners in the long run as the overall number of trailers required for this would be similar to current levels.

[MunnabhaiMBBS]

Originally Posted by wanderer4x4

That's what I wanted to convey. With multiple handling of the cars at various points, the risk increases.

To be more specific, From the shipping port, manufacturer only will load the cars into a trailer and route them across dealerships, completely eliminating the risk of cars being ripped apart by the dealership contract drivers.

Am sure the manufacturers have evaluated all the possible risks, created flashy Effort-impact Matrix, Fishbones and so on. We never know, this initiative might be an outcome of one of the GB/BB projects. Taking calculated risks with a control plan is a standard practice across industries!

[V.Narayan]

Rajeevraj, you've done it again i.e. opened another delightful newsworthy thread. I am happy our country is moving to sea transportation for domestic movements. We also have a lot of rivers which can be exploited by shallow draught barges. A 30,000 tonne (full load) ocean going ship which could carry a fare paying payload of say 22,500 tonnes needs only about 10,000 shp to cruise along at 14 knots (~24 kmph) with no stops or traffic delays. Compare that to a trailer truck. Many sea and river routes in India shouldn't take longer than a truck journey e.g. Chennai to Calcutta, Mumbai to Cochin, Calcutta upriver to Kanpur and so on. Compliments to Hyundai & Chennai Port.

[apachelongbow]

Kudos to the government and Hyundai in doing a little bit for reducing carbon footprint. It makes financial and environmental sense to transport/bulk transport cars using the coastal route instead of inefficient trailers. Also the second leg connectivity, say from the Gujarat port to cities must be encouraged to be on freight trains and trailers must be used only for last mile connectivity from the city central depots to dealer yards.
Likewise one must encourage coastal shipping industry by ensuring there is sufficient movement of goods by sea both on the east and west coasts of India. Atleast movement from Chennai, Mumbai, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Vizag, Hyderabad, Kolkatta, Bubhaneshwar must be through sea wherever able.

[SuperFlyBoy]

Unfortunately, all the Hyundai cars being exported - and now these domestic shipments - were causing incredible road delays in/around/near Chennai Port in the PM hours last time I visited there.

Otherwise it's an excellent way to transport vehicles with minimal CO2 output...

[deehunk]

The number of cars that can be shipped over a sea freight is significantly higher compared to the number of cars that can be moved on a trailer. Hope the benefit is also given to consumers by removing the handling charges at dealer end.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Kudos to the government and Hyundai in doing a little bit for reducing carbon footprint. It makes financial and environmental sense to transport/bulk transport cars using the coastal route instead of inefficient trailers. Also the second leg connectivity, say from the Gujarat port to cities must be encouraged to be on freight trains and trailers must be used only for last mile connectivity from the city central depots to dealer yards.
Likewise one must encourage coastal shipping industry by ensuring there is sufficient movement of goods by sea both on the east and west coasts of India. Atleast movement from Chennai, Mumbai, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Vizag, Hyderabad, Kolkatta, Bubhaneshwar must be through sea wherever able.

This makes good sense. However, if it takes off in a big way (multiple routes / multiple manufacturers) , it has a direct impact on us motorists.

Taking thousands of trailers off the arterial highways can reduce congestion on busy stretches like NH8 / Ankleshwar, but on other sections, it can throw the operator into losses - such multi-axle trucks are often a mainstay of toll tariffs.

That only means that tariffs go up for car owners. Personally I'm all for that - but many of us may not. Especially in more politically charged states, substantial toll rate hikes are not palatable.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by MunnabhaiMBBS

Govt should gear up for another Andolan by the Trailer owners association in future

Ideally, if trailer owners are clever enough, this shouldnt be a reason to complain. They will still have the same business, the only change being the distance they will have to span their service. Trailers will still be needed for transporting the cars from the hub to the dealerships and surrounding towns. They will just have to make more number of local trips than one long distance trip to transport the same number of cars as before.

That is the exact case with Maruti. All the cars bound for Karnataka are offloaded near Bangalore after they come by train. The trailers pick the cars from here and then take it to various last mile points.