Routeing system for southwest Indian waters in effect from 1st August

The Merchant Shipping Notice 11 of 2020, establishing a routeing system for the southwest Indian waters, enters into effect on 1st August 2020. The system comes in response to a number of collisions of fishing vessels in the busy sea route in the area.

The Arabian Sea around the south-west coast of India is a busy sea route with substantial number of ships passing through the area, as well as a large number of fishing vessels operating in the region.

The presence of large number of merchant vessels and fishing vessels operating in the area has resulted in several incidents of collision in Indian waters, bringing from environmental pollution to loss of lives.

Considering these incidents of collision in Indian waters, it has become necessary to have a mechanism for marine traffic to safely operate in the area that will not only ensure improvement in safety of navigation, avoidance of collision, ease in flow of traffic and the avoidance of areas of heavy fishing traffic, but also contribute towards enhancing the safety of life at sea, safety and efficiency of navigation, and/or protection of marine environment,

…the Indian Directorate of Shipping explains.