Hazira-Ghogha Ro-Pax ferry service

Why in news?

• Prime minister flagged off a Ro-Pax service between Hazira and Ghogha in Gujarat through video conferencing.

About the service:

• Hazira-Ghogha Ro-Pax ferry service will work as a Gateway to South Gujarat and Saurashtra region.
• It will reduce the distance between Ghogha and Hazira from 370 Kilometres to 90 Kilometres.
• The reduced cargo travel time will result in huge savings of fuel approximately 9000 litres per day and will lead to reduction in CO2 emission by approximately 24 million tonnes per day.
• It will give an impetus to the tourism industry with ease of access to Saurashtra region and lead to creation of new job opportunities.
• With the onset of Ferry services, the port sector, furniture and fertilizer industries in Saurashtra and Kutch region will get a big boost. Eco-tourism and religious-tourism in Gujarat, especially in Porbandar, Somnath, Dwarka and Palitana will grow exponentially.
• The benefits of enhanced connectivity through this ferry service will also result in increased inflow of tourists in the famous Asiatic lion wildlife sanctuary at Gir.

What is a Ro-Pax service?

• Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle, such as a self-propelled modular transporter.
• This is in contrast to lift-on/lift-off (LoLo) vessels, which use a crane to load and unload cargo.
• The Ro-Pax Ferry Vessel operated in Gujarat,  `Voyage Symphony` is a three decks vessel with DWT 2,500-2,700 MT, with displacement of 12,000 to 15,000 GT.
• It has a load capacity of 30 trucks (of 50 MT each) on the main deck, 100 passenger cars on the upper deck and 500 passengers plus 34 crew & hospitality staff on the passenger deck.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Hazira Ghogha Ro-pax service, recently in news, connects cities in:
(a)Gujarat
(b)Kerala 
(c)Maharashtra
(d)West Bengal 

Answer to prelims question