Nagapattinam-Kankesanthurai ferry services will "resume this year," says Sri Lankan official

By Diksha Rathore
New Delhi [India], July 31 : Passenger ferry services between Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka will resume this year according to Geshan Dissanayake, Minister Commercial of the island country's High Commission in India who expressed optimism about increasing connectivity between the two countries.
The Sri Lankan official further said that the Talaimannar pier, which served as a passageway to India with ferry services is under repair and once reconstructed will facilitate travel from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu.
"Currently, we are going to resume the ferry service from Nagapattinam to Kankesanthurai and we are also repairing Talaimannar Pier as well...Historically it (connected) Talaimannar from Rameswaram, so that will also happen in the future," Dissanayake told ANI on the sidelines of the third Outbound Tourism Summit organised by FICCI in New Delhi.
"Yeah, like ferry services during this year," he said on asked for an estimated timeline for the resumption of services.
The announcement of the Nagapattinam-Kankesanthurai ferry was made when Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe visited India in July 2023.
Both the governments had also affirmed to continue to work towards commencement of ferry services between other ports, including the traditional route between Rameswaram- Talaimannar.
The Sri Lankan official said that the "operators are using small boats now but of course once it gets started and that once it will get traction then of course they will use big boats as well, like ships kind of things, like roll-down, roll-off ferries kind of thing, where you can put your vehicles and go."
On being asked the frequency of the ferries, he said that they will operate for a particular time.
"Frequency, maybe like that of course I have to check, because earlier this didn't work out due to rough seas. So anyway, they will operate during a particular time. Other times the sea is rough," he said.
Passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam in India and Kankesanthurai (KKS) region of Jaffna in northern province of Sri Lanka that was launched on October 14, 2023 last year, however, shut days after owing to bad weather conditions.
Since then, the resumption of the services has been halted multiple times. It was about to resume in May this year, but it did not happen.
According to MEA, the high-speed ferry operated by the Shipping Corporation of India has a capacity of 150 passengers.
The distance of about 60 nm (110 Km) between Nagapattinam and KKS will be covered in approx. 3.5 hours depending on sea conditions. In order to commence the service, the Government of India supported the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board in upgrading facilities at the Nagapattinam port. Similarly, the Government of Sri Lanka has created necessary infrastructure at the port of KKS.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan official also lauded the ties between India and Sri Lanka, and termed them "historical."
"When it comes to India and Sri Lanka, of course, there has been historical connection, so there is a lot of potential. The last time when the President of Sri Lanka visited India, leaders of both nations signed a vision statement making like highlighting the importance of connectivity. One of those connectivity is people to people connectivity...There is this power grid which is going to happen maybe in 2026 so Sri Lanka can send power to India or to other countries because India is connected their grid to Bangladesh and other neighboring countries. So there is a potential," the Sri Lankan official told ANI.
He highlighted that with situation returning to normalcy in Sri Lanka, the arrival of tourists from all across the globe,including Indians, have also peaked.
"Now, of course, things are getting back to normal. Within these six months, the global arrivals to Sri Lanka was like more than 1 million. And 180,000 was from India. So it is somewhat closer to 200,000. Twenty per cent...And we know that there is a huge scope because there is a huge middle class in India. So we are trying to tap into that. And given the good air connectivity, I think we can attract more tourists from India," Dissanayake said.
"We are trying to promote MICE tourism, where people can have their conferences in Sri Lanka...So likewise there are few these kind of things are happening and also we are promoting destination weddings" he further said, on being asked about the steps taken by the island country to attract Indian tourists.
Notably, MICE tourism stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions tourism. It's a kind of business travel where people tend to go different places for professional events.
Also shedding some light on climate change and its impact on tourism in island nations, the official stated that "Sri Lanka is immune to it."
"To a certain extent Sri Lanka is kind of immune but of course like rising sea levels may be a serious thing in the future if we don't adapt to the Kyoto protocols and that kind of stuff. But currently we are not facing any adverse kind of a thing but we experience kind of like, now we are having more rain than usual," he added.
The minister declined to comment on the Indian fishermen issue, a maritime dispute that remains unsolved between the two nations till date.
"That is a political thing, so I would like to skip that because I can only speak about tourism, which is my area," he said.
Last month, regarding the matter of 10 Indian fishermen charged with death in Sri Lanka, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India has always prioritised the welfare of these fishermen and is making efforts to bring them back home.
Ten Indian fishermen, arrested by Sri Lanka on June 24 for alleged illegal fishing, will face charges related to the death of a Sri Lankan Navy sailor who was killed during an operation to apprehend them, stated reports.
The MEA said they are aware of the situation and have raised the issue with Sri Lankan authorities.
"On these ten fishermen, our high commission is aware of the matter. We are aware of the matter and we have taken up this issue with the Sri Lankan side. Hopefully, we will see how best to take it forward," said MEA.