2 May 2024 08:57 am Views - 248
By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama
The passenger ferry service between India’s Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai (KKS) in Jaffna is scheduled to resume on May 13, Controller General of Immigration and Emigration I.S.H.J. Ilukpitiya said.
Addressing the media, he said several attempts to resume the ferry service between the countries were cancelled due to unfavourable conditions of the sea.
Rough seas had caused the cancellation of the service during earlier instances.
However, the passenger ferry finally commenced as the ‘Cheriyapani’ passenger ferry arrived at the Kankesanthurai port on October 14, 2023, at 11:30 a.m., after a 40-year hiatus.
Previously, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation, Nimal Siripala de Silva welcomed about 50 passengers and the vessel’s crew. The inaugural voyage of the ‘Cheriyapani’ passenger ferry was commemorated with an exchange of plaques.
The ‘Cheriyapani’ is a high-speed vessel owned by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), measuring 35 metres in length and 9.6 metres in beam, with a capacity to accommodate 150 passengers. The journey from Nagapattinam to Kankesanthurai port takes approximately four hours and is priced at 26,750 Sri Lankan rupees for a one-way trip and 53,500 Sri Lankan rupees for round trips.
Operators of the passenger ferry service claim that each passenger is allowed to carry goods weighing up to 50 kgs, with a maximum weight allowance of 50 kgs per person.
Sri Lanka’s Asha Agencies Ltd. is responsible for the operation and marketing of the ferry service, and they have also appointed a ticket sales agent in Jaffna.