For transportation of Liquified Natural Gas (LPG) by means of barges on National Waterways-1 and National Waterways-2, an MoU has been signed among Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and MOL (Asia Oceania) Pte. Ltd. According to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, IWAI will present assistance for handling of LPG cargo on IWAI and multimodal terminals at Sahibganj, Haldia as properly as Varanasi as per notified provisions and prices on MOL’s request, facilitating with sufficient fairway, and delivering details on Lease Available Depth (LAD) on month-to-month/fortnightly basis. The world’s biggest gas carrier firm, MOL Group will invest for the building as properly as operation of devoted LPG barges beneath the Modi government’s ‘Make-in-India’ initiative.
At present, 60 per cent of the LPG is transported to the numerous places by means of road with a price of Rs 5 to 6 per metric tonne per km, which the oil firms are interested in decreasing. Sometimes, there are also difficulties of strikes by transporters, road blockages which lead to delay in transportation. Therefore, the firms’ most important region of interest is to use waterways to have a less costly option to the current transportation mode, which is also a greener and cleaner mode. Also, some locations are challenging to strategy by means of railways or roadways specifically in the Northeast portion of the nation exactly where the IWT sector could present usable options, other than the parcel size as compared to road trucks which can carry LPG of 17 MT.
Besides, the salient function of LPG more than other products is that it is a clean cargo with zero leakages as properly as spillage as the solutions are handled by pipelines in an totally closed-loop with utmost security precautions getting regulated by PESO and PNGRB. As compared to any other bulk cargo, LPG cargo calls for significantly less berthing time. Also, there is no will need of conveyors, and so on., installed on jetties/berths. Transporting LPG by means of inland waterways will enable lessen the carbon footprints, lowering the price of all round logistics, which stands about 13 per cent to 14 per cent of GDP in India, compared to worldwide typical of 8 per cent and contributing to social schemes of the government like “UJJAWLA” for LPG provide.