THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Maritime Board, the agency tasked with developing the state’s maritime sector, has finalised the rates for Coastal Shipping incentives to support the industry.

The President of Coastal Container Transporters Association (CCTA), Mr. Rahul Modi, has hailed the move by the Maritime Board to set the rates saying it would give a fillip to the development of Coastal Shipping in the State.

The scheme will be applicable to containers shipped between the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam in Cochin Port Trust and Non-Major Ports in the state such as Kollam, Beypore and Azhikkal.

•             The incentive will be Rs 12,790 for a twenty-foot loaded container and Rs 16,627 for a forty-foot loaded container for a Kochi to Beypore run.

•             For shipments from Kochi to Azhikkal port, the incentive will be Rs20,774 for a twenty-foot loaded container and Rs27,007 for a forty-foot loaded container.

•             The incentive for the Kochi to Kollam route will be Rs10,200 for a twenty-foot loaded container and Rs13,259 for a forty-foot loaded container, according to a guideline issued by the Board’s Chief Executive Officer Geromic George.

The incentives will be valid for six months.

The rate chart on coastal shipping incentive removes the ambiguity emanating from an order issued by the Kerala Government in June, approving the broad contours of the scheme.

Containers shipped between the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam in Cochin Port Trust and non-major ports in the state such as Kollam, Beypore and Azhikkal will be entitled to an incentive of 10 per cent over the road transportation costs as per the base rate set by the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) in 2018, according to a June 4 order issued by the Fisheries and Ports Department, Kerala Government.