Ferry service between Tamil Nadu and northern Sri Lanka to be launched on October 10

To be operated by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), the ferry service will cover the distance of 60 nautical miles between Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and Kankesanthurai near Jaffna, the capital of northern Sri Lanka, in about 3 hours.

Tamil Nadu and northern Sri Lanka will get reconnected by sea route after over 40 years with the launch of a passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai on October 10, in a major leap towards boosting people-to-people contact between the close neighbours. 

To be operated by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), the ferry service will cover the distance of 60 nautical miles between Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and Kankesanthurai near Jaffna, the capital of northern Sri Lanka, in about three hours. 

SCI will deploy a high speed craft, Cheriyapani, for the service between the two countries. “This service would offer an excellent opportunity for the people of India and Sri Lanka to make a low cost trip to Jaffna and Tamil Nadu and further strengthen the historical ties  between both the nations,” the SCI said in a statement.

The one-way fare is expected to be around Rs 7,500 and passengers will get a 40 kg free baggage allowance. 

The development comes months after the two countries decided to resume passenger ferry services between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai and work towards early resumption of ferry services between Rameswaram and Talaimannar during the visit of Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe in July this year.

Passenger ferry service between Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Talaimannar in northern Sri Lanka was suspended in 1982 after civil war broke out in the island nation. However, the then UPA-II government launched a ferry service between Thoothukudi and Colombo, which lasted only five months. 

The resumption of passenger ferry service to northern Sri Lanka after decades will provide an alternate mode of transport for people who travel from Tamil Nadu to Jaffna. 

Air India currently runs a direct flight service between Chennai and Jaffna, while the ferry is expected to enhance tourism in Jaffna peninsula. Jaffna and Chennai are geographically, historically and culturally close to each other and a direct flight and ferry would help Sri Lankan diaspora in India avoid Colombo to reach the North as it consumes more time.