The Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) will launch two barges here on January 1, aimed at stepping up its presence in the waterway transport of bulk cargo.
One of them is an oil tanker barge that can carry 1,400 metric tonnes (MT) of cargo. The ₹15-crore vessel was built at a yard in Goa. It will in all likelihood operate as a chartered vessel in India’s west coast. The smaller 300 MT vessel is an acid barge that will operate in the Kochi backwaters. It can operate to Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited, Chavara, once the Thrikkunnapuzha lock is widened, official sources said.
The two new barges will help augment the KSINC’s income from ferrying of bulk cargo, they added.
