The much-awaited plan to run hovercraft service in Mumbai's Arabian sea has been delayed now following the Ukraine-Russia crisis. The Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) chief executive officer Dr Amit Saini (IAS) speaking to the Free Press Journal said they had given a Letter of Intent in 2019 to a private agency that was supposed to bring hovercraft. However, the plan was first delayed due to the pandemic and now because of the Ukraine-Russia crisis.
The said agency was to bring hovercraft from Russia. The agencies MMB, MbPT, CIDCO are jointly involved in this project.
First, to be made operational between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, the hovercraft services were expected to begin in January 2020 but got delayed due to Covid-19.
When asked about the MMB's role, Saini replied, "We give permission and license for operations. If any other agency also shows interest to bring hovercrafts it will be surely considered.”
A hovercraft moves very fast, at 60 mph unlike other boats. If one takes a car or ROPAX (roll-on/roll-off passenger vessel) it will take 45 minutes to go from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai while a hovercraft will take only 15-20 minutes to cover the same distance.
