Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project

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Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project proposes linking the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka by creating a shipping channel through the shallow sea sometimes called Setu Samudram, and through the island chain of Rama's Bridge, also known as Adam's Bridge. This would provide a continuous navigable sea route around the Indian Peninsula. The project involves digging a 44.9 nautical mile (83 km) long deepwater channel linking the shallow water of the Palk Strait with the Gulf of Mannar. Conceived as early as 1860 by Alfred Dundas Taylor, it recently received approval of the Indian government. Government of India plans to break limestone shoals called Ram's Bridge or Ram sethu as part of implementation of this project. A few organizations are opposing damage to Ramasethu on religious,environmental and economical grounds. Many of these parties or organizations support implementation of this project using one of the 5 alternative alignments considered earlier^[1][2] without damaging a structure considered sacred by Hindus. Current alignment is planned as Mid-ocean channel which is unprecedented. Other famous shipping canal projects like Suez Canal and Panama Canal projects are land based channels.^[3]

[edit] History

Due to shallow waters, Sethusamudram presents a formidable hindrance to navigation through the Palk strait. Though trade across the India-Sri Lanka divide has been active since at least the first millennium BCE, it has been limited to small boats and dinghies. Larger ocean going vessels from the West have had to navigate around Sri Lanka to reach India' eastern coast.^[4] Eminent British geographer Major James Rennell, who surveyed the region as a young officer in late eighteenth century, suggested that a "navigable passage could be maintained by dredging the strait of Ramisseram [sic]". However little notice was given to his proposal, perhaps because it came from "so young and unknown an officer", and the idea was only revived 60 years later.^[5] Efforts were made in 1838 to dredge the canal, but did not succeed in keeping the passage navigable for any vessels except those with a shallow draft. ^[6]

Possibly conceived in 1860 by Commander A. D. Taylor of the Indian Marines,^{[citation needed]} the project has been reviewed many times over the years but no decision was ever made. It was part of the election manifestos of all political parties during elections. The Union Government of India appointed the Sethu Samudram Project Committee in 1955, headed by Dr. A. Ramasamy Mudaliar, which was charged with the duty of examining the desirability of the project. After evaluating the costs and benefits, this committee found the project feasible and viable. However it has strongly recommended land based passage instead of channel cutting through Ram's bridge due to several advantages of land based passage like Shifting sandbanks, Ability to prevent navigational hazards etc.^[7]. Several reviews of the proposals followed. Finally, the United Progressive Alliance Government of India headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the inauguration of the project on July 2, 2005.

[edit] Suggested Alignments by earlier committees

Opposition parties are demanding implementation of Sethusamudram canal project using one of the five alternative alignments considered by Government earlier without damaging Ramsetu structure. Indian government has constituted nine committees before Independence and five committees after independence. Most of the committees have suggested a land based alignment across Rameswaram island. None of them have suggested alignment across Rams Bridge or Rama Setu^[8]

[edit] Benefits

The strategic advantages to India derive from obtaining a navigable sea route close to the coast, with a reduction in travel distance of more than 350 nautical miles (650 km) (for larger ships). The project is expected to provide a boost to the economic and industrial development of coastal Tamil Nadu. The project will be of particular significance to Tuticorin harbour, which has the potential to transform itself into a nodal port. The State Government has announced its proposal to develop 13 minor ports, including Ennore, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Thondi, Valinokam, Kolachel and Kanyakumari.

Development of the canal and ports is also expected to provide increased maritime security for Tamil Nadu.

[edit] Other Arguments

This is what Captain (retired) H Balakrishnan of the Indian Navy has to say about the project in an interview to Shobha Warrier of Rediff:^[10]

I have worked on the project from three different perspectives, all concerning the nautical world. I analysed the project in the backdrop of the environmental factors that would impinge the safety of the ship and also the safety of lives at sea. Number two was the security aspects which is maritime terrorism as it stands today. And the third was certain aspects of general navigation.

Safety

We mariners call the coast between Rameswaram and Cuddalore the cyclone coast. The India Meteorological Department has assigned this coastline as a high risk probability. To cite one example, in 1964, the Pamban Bridge was washed away by a severe cyclonic storm. A ship is safe when she is moving at the onset of a cyclone. Imagine a ship waiting to pick up its pilot as it approaches the Palk Straits to enter Sethu Samudram. No captain will wait for the pilot; his safety lies in heading south, towards Sri Lanka.

Constant Dredging Required

The wind and waves bring in a large amount of silt and wash it ashore. The same thing is going to happen to the Sethu Samudram Canal. This brings me to another point. Marine scientists have identified five areas on the Indian coastline they call high-sinkage pits, and one of them happens to be the Palk Straits.

What is left unsaid by the Sethu Samudram authorities is that maintaining the 12 metre depth (of the channel) will entail round the year dredging. Once you establish the channel, you have to maintain it. But this cost is not mentioned anywhere. This is the hidden cost which the authorities will have to pay to the dredging company. It is a high siltation and sedimentation area. So, what you pick up today is going to get filled up the next day.

Not suitable for Heavy Ships

Also, It is quite true that the 12 metre depth of the Canal is not enough for big ships to pass through the canal. If you take global shipping trends today, to reduce operating cost, they go in for larger ships of the order of 60,000 deadweight tonnes and above. A 60,000 deadweight tonne carrier will need anything in excess of 17 metres of draft. And as far as tankers go, the days of the super tanker are gone and you see only very large crude carriers of the type of 150,000 and 185,000 tonnes. It makes more sense to have such big tankers as in one voyage, you are bringing in more cargo and reduce your operating cost. None of these big ships will ever be able to use the Sethu Samudram. So, the question is, for whom are you building the canal? 30,000 tonnes was alright when Sethu Samudram was conceived in the early fifties and the sixties. That leaves you with only the coastal bulk carriers that carry coal from Kolkata, Paradeep and Visakhapatanam to Chennai or Tuticorin.

Myth about Time saved

I plotted physically on a chart what we call 'passage planning' for a bulk carrier on passage as it happens today from Kolkata to Tuticorin; one of them circumnavigating Sri Lanka as is happening today and the other one going through the canal. The voyage distance from Kolkata to Tuticorin around Sri Lanka works out to 1227 nautical miles. If you went through the canal, it is 1098 nm. So, you are saving just 120 odd nm.

The story doesn't end there. The majority of our bulk carriers go at a speed between 12 and 13 knots. That is the average speed at sea. I have checked with my friends who currently sail. They all said they do 12 knots. However, I worked in a bracket of 12-15 knots. So, if you are going around Sri Lanka at 12 knots at constant speed at sea, the time taken to reach outer anchorage at Tuticorin is 102 hours and 15 minutes.

When you go through Sethu Samudram, the point to be remembered is, you cannot proceed at the speed at which you are sailing at sea. The reason is the shallow water effect or what we call the 'Squat Effect'. So, the moment you enter Sethu Samudram, you have to reduce the sped by 50 per cent or more depending on the conditions prevailing at that particular time. So, I worked on a speed bracket of 6-8 knots. But many of my friends tell me 8 knots is too high for a 30,000 tonne bulk carrier. In all my calculations, I gave the benefit of doubt to the Sethu Samudram project.

The second aspect is, it is not an open seaway; it is like entering a port. A pilot boards the ship, who is a local mariner with greater knowledge of the marine environment. The same thing has to be done at Sethu Samudram also. I have given one hour delay for the ship to reduce speed for the pilot to climb aboard. You repeat the process at the other end too for him to disembark.

With this 6 knots speed and 2 hours pilotage delay, my time to Tuticorin via Sethu Samudram works out to 100 hours 30 minutes. If you went around Sri Lanka, it is 102 hours 15 minutes! So, your net savings in time by going through Sethu Samudram is 1 hour 45 minutes! Is it worth spending Rs 2,400 crore to save 1 hour 45 minutes?

Myth about Cost saved

The Sethu Samudram project from the media reports and the statement given by the finance minister will cost at Rs 2,400 crore, of which Rs 971 crore is through a special purpose vehicle. The debt portion has been pegged at Rs 1,465 crore. Assuming an interest burden of 10 per cent, the interest payment on Rs 1,465 crore is Rs 146 crore per annum. Twenty to 25 years is the time given for repayment.

Assuming 25 years for Rs 1,465 crore, capital repayment works out about 56 crore per annum. So, Rs 146 crore for interest burden and Rs 56 crore as repayment works out to roughly Rs 204 crore per annum which is what the authorities will have to repay to any financial institution. This is only to break-even. But the web site says it is a profitable industry and it is going to make 'mammoth profit'.

As the earning is going to come only from ships, I asked, how many ships are going to transit in a year through the canal? Ships that can use the canal will be coal carrying bulk carriers as long as the Tuticorin thermal power plant exists.

Having made the calculation, I feel they are rather optimistic in their figures. They have given a mean value of about 3,055 ships meant to use the canal in the year 2008 and by the year 2025, they expect it to go to in excess of 7,000 ships. Mind you, for 12 metres of depth! But

I can't see more than 1,000 ships using the Sethu Samudram canal in a year.

If you take Rs 204 crore as annual repayment, and 1,000 ships use it, your per ship cost works out to Rs 22 lakhs pilotage charge to break even. There is an interesting comparison done by K S Ramakrishnan, former deputy chairman, Chennai Port Trust. He pegs around Rs 50 lakh as pilotage rate per ship if you have to make a profit.

Then I calculated the fuel consumed. These ships consume 1 metric tonne of fuel per hour, which costs Rs 24,000. For the Sethu Samudram canal, you have to add the pilotage cost too. In effect, if a ship goes through the canal, a shipping company loses Rs 19 lakh per voyage. It is more cost effective to circumnavigate Sri Lanka from the point of view of the shipping industry.

Therefore, neither are you saving time nor is it viable economically. These are the two aspects that need to be highlighted. So, there is absolutely no advantage to the ships and the shipping industry. So, what are we gaining by spending Rs 2,400 crore of tax payers' money? It is a white elephant in the making.

Realignment

Any course, any realignment, is going to prove uneconomical to the shipping industry. If it is of no use to the shipping industry, why build it? You can bring about better economic progress to the southern districts of Tamil Nadu by building expressways. That is why I say the Sethu Samudram shipping canal project makes no nautical sense. That is the tragedy of the project.

Those who support the Sethu Samudram Canal compare it to the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal and say the Sethu Samudram is the Suez of the East.

In the case of the Suez and the Panama canals, ships save thousands of nautical miles in sailing distance and hundreds of hours in sailing time vis-?-vis the Sethu Samudram where a ship will probably save a few hundred miles and at the most twohours in sailing time. This is the difference.

[edit] Issues to be resolved

[edit] Economic

Many naval hydrographers and experts suggest that the project is unlikely to be financially viable or serve ships in any significant way. The savings for ships that originate from Kanyakumari or Tuticorin is between 10 and 30 hours. For ships from other destinations like the Middle East, Africa, Mauritius and Europe,the average savings by using this canal is just 8 hours.

At the present tariff rates, ships from Africa and Europe will lose $ 4,992 on every voyage[2], as the savings in time for these ships are considerably lower that what is calculated in the DPR. This loss is significant as 65% of the projected users of the canal are those from Africa and Europe. If tariffs are lowered to a point where ships from Africa and Europe will not lose any money from using the canal, the IRR of the project falls to 2.6%[3]. This is a level at which even public infrastructure projects are rejected by the government.

Mr.Balakrishnan who is associated with Indian Navy for 32 years claims that this canal does not make nautical sense. Depth envisaged for this canal is designed for ships with weight of 30000 tonnes and less. However current trend in shipping industry is to build ships with weight more than 60000 tonnes and tankers with weight above 150000 tonnes. Most of the new generation ships cannot make use of this canal.^[11] According to Mr.Balakrishnan new channel is expected to bring down nautical mile from 1298 nm to 1098nm for Kolkata to Tuticorn which is much lesser than government expectations.

[edit] Environmental

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• Marine life:

Though there has been a demand from various quarters for the implementation of the project, there is also opposition to it from environmentalists. They point out that the dredging of the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar, by modifying habitats, could affect the ecology of the zone by changing currents. This could:

• cause changes in temperature, salinity, turbidity and flow of nutrients
• cause oilspills from ship and other marine pollution to reach the coastal areas and specifically the sensitive ecosystems of the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park.
• lead to higher tides and to more energetic waves, and hence to coastal erosion.
• affect the local sea temperature and thereby alter the pattern of sea-breezes and hence affect rainfall patterns.

They also point out that dredging the canal would stir up sediment the dust and toxins that lie beneath the sea bed, smothering corals and affecting marine life. The emptying of bilge water from ships travelling through the hitherto impassable areas could diperse invasive species through the ecosystems of the area.

These effects could endanger precious marine species and biodiversity. The Gulf of Mannar has 3,600 species of plants and animals and is India's biologically richest coastal region.^[12], ^[13] Mammal species which abound in the area are sperm whales, dolphins and dugongs. The Gulf of Mannar is especially known for its corals: the portion in Indian territorial waters has 117 species of corals, belonging to 37 genera. ^[14] Associated with these ecosystems are many varieties of fish and crustaceans. Marine life on the Sri Lankan side, which is better protected, is even richer. The Bar Reef off the Kalpitiya peninsular alone has 156 species of coral and 283 of fish^{[citation needed]}; there are two other coral reef systems around Mannar and Jaffna. There are extensive banks of oysters, as well as Indian Chank and Sea Cucumbers, especially in the seas adjacent to Mannar. The pearl fisheries south of Mannar, which inspired Georges Bizet's opera Les Pêcheurs de Perles, have not been productive for many years, indicating the fragility of these ecosystems in the face of overfishing and of relatively minor changes in the habitat. Despite these concerns, official environmental clearance has been given for the project. The contention that the Sethusamudram Canal will cut through coral reefs and disturb the ecology has been dismissed as a mistaken fear.

The Indian government has conducted various environmental studies ^[15] which has concluded that such issues are overblown and not based on science. However, skeptics have noted that environmentalist objections remain, including:

• The Environmental Impact Assessment carried out by the Indian government was done by a body inexperienced in projects of this nature, was insufficiently detailed and did not consult with all the stakeholders, which included the government and people on the southern side of the proposed project,
• No proper survey has been carried out of the sea bed to be dredged, and
• No proper scientific modelling of the effects of the project has been carried out.

After environmental objections were made in Sri Lanka, the Indian government decided to carry out modelling, but this had not been done before clearance had already been given for the project. A modelling exercise carried out by Sri Lanka's National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) indicated that the project would increase the water flow from the Bay of Bengal to the Gulf of Mannar, disturbing the inland water balance as well as the ecosystems in the Gulf. [4] There have also been judicial observations against this project [5].

• Fishing

On July 2, 2005, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project amidst protests from fishermen and environmentalists. Nearly 600 were arrested.

[edit] Political and economic

There have been concerns that the dredging would increase the water flow, thus eroding and even submerging the western Jaffna coastline. However as the project is nearly 50 km from the coastline of Sri Lanka few geologists believe it will have any serious harm. Moreover some have chipped in saying that the economic benefits will be mutual for Sri Lanka as much as it is for India by reviving minor ports in Sri Lanka.

The underdeveloped region of Northern Srilanka is currently occupied by LTTE. Sethusamudram project could potentially allow economic benefits to this region. This is being viewed with mutual suspsicon of both Sri Lankan and Tamil leaders. Further it is expected that in addition to Colombo, new ports to be developed near Jaffna.

There has also been criticism expressed, on the basis that the project could damage relations with [Sri Lanka].

[edit] Religious

Some claim that this land bridge is the site of the famous Rama's Bridge, making it a historical, religious and cultural monument of great significance. For this reason, many, including chief ministers of states[6], oppose the project.

While the age of the Ram Setu is disputed it's importance as a religious symbol in the minds of most Hindu's is not. Several claims and estimates have been made regarding the age of Rama's bridge and its relation to the Indian epic Ramayana.

• Rama’s bridge is only 3,500 years old: CRS {Source: Indian Express}: "Ramasamy explains that the land/beaches were formed between Ramanathapuram and Pamban because of the long shore drifting currents which moved in an anti-clockwise direction in the north and clockwise direction in the south of Rameswaram and Talaimannar about 3,500 years ago. ... But as the carbon dating of the beaches roughly matches the dates of Ramayana, its link to the epic needs to be explored, he adds."[7]

• Rama Setu is not a natural formation: Dr. Badrinarayanan, former director of Geological Survey of India and a member of the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) says the Rama's Bridge was not a natural formation."Such a natural formation is impossible. Unless somebody has transported them and dumped them there, those reefs could not have come there. Some boulders were so light that they could float on water."[8]

• A premier institute had made 91 boreholes in and around the site to ascertain the truth and the soil samples kept at the Sethu Project Office could be verified." [9]

• Photographs taken from space by NASA: Both sides in the debate have claimed that their respective points of view are supported by photographs taken from space and released by the American space agency NASA. However a spokesman for the space agency, Michael Braukus, as quoted in the Indian press ^[16]., categorically denied that the photographs support either claim and stated "Some people have taken pictures by our astronauts to make their claim. No position can be taken on the basis of these photographs in any way," He further stated "The age, substratum, geological structure or anthropological status of the ocean bed in Palk strait cannot be determined by the astronauts' photographs. So there is no basis for these claims,". This directly contradicts the reported claim by N K Raghupathy, CEO, Sethusamudram Corp Ltd that NASA had declared the Rama Sethu a natural structure. ^[17]

[edit] See also

• Suez Canal
• Panama Canal
• Adams Bridge

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Complete Information about Sethu Samudram
• Times of India Specials
• Sethusamudram Corporation Limited
• sethusamudram.in
• Geo-Strategic Implications of Sethusamudram
• Manitham's Interim Report on Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project
• http://www.hindu.com/2004/09/20/stories/2004092001701000.htm
• http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/sep262004/sl2.asp
• http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/jul/02sethu.htm
• http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Policy/SSCP_inspires_debate_on_what_is_public_purpose/articleshow/2249751.cms
• http://www.epw.org.in/epw/uploads/articles/10823.pdf
• http://www.downtoearth.org.in/full6.asp?foldername=20070615&filename=croc&sec_id=10&sid=1
• http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/sep/15setu.htm
• Rediff India