Enayam Port

Tamil Research Institute
RAPID TECHNO-ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY REPORT FOR
DEVELOPMENT OF COLACHEL PORT AT TAMILNADU
FINAL REPORT
Homeport Attractiveness
Parameter
Access to major markets
Colachel
attractive?
No
Reason
Distance from major cities: nearest metro >700 km
Nearest airport 65 km away
Lodging No Mostly 2 and 3 star hotels – not attractive to cruise passengers
Crew travel cost No Cost high because of distance from major hubs
Overall attractiveness
No
Port-of-call Attractiveness
Parameter
Range of tourist
attractions
No
Colachel
attractive?
10. Maritime education and R&D centre
Reason
Main tourist sports are Thomaiyar Kovil church and
Padmanabhapurampalace
Adventure/activities No No major hotspots in and around Colachel
Depth of port Yes 20 m deep draft available
Overall attractiveness
No
Source: Discussion with cruise operators, European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation, Tourismos : An International Multidisciplinary Journal of Tourism
Figure 90: Cruise port attractiveness
Indians form the second largest pool of sea farers in the world accounting for 10-15% of global pool of
shipping crew (~15% for global officer pool and ~10% of global rating pool). Marine education
infrastructure is critical for sustaining and expanding the Indian sea farer base. India today has more
than 120 marine education institutes which are recognized by DG Shipping (~70 % of the institutes are
part of engineering colleges). Although the no. of seats in India for marine education is adequate, the
quality of education has always been under scrutiny. The DG Shipping had imposed a ban on opening
of new maritime institutes and expansion of existing ones in 2012 to control quality of the institutes. The
biggest impediment of ensuring quality has been shortage of training berths on ships for the students.
Institutes that can provide adequate exposure to the students by providing training berths would be in
great demand among the aspiring sea farers.
Enayam provides an opportunity to set up a best in class maritime education institute. South India is
perceived as a major hub of talent for marine crew. There is a strong demand for marine education in
the region. The institute can help cater to this demand. It will have an edge over other institutes due to
the access it will get to the shipping liners who would operate in the Enayam port. This would allow the
institute to provide adequate training berths to its students. The institute can also help develop Indian
talent for other forms of shipping businesses like ship broking and maritime law, and can foster
entrepreneurship in shipping services among others.
Innovation and R&D centres have been the backbone of maritime clusters across the world including the
likes of Singapore and Norway. Norway had started the Norwegian Maritime Knowledge Hub- a
collaboration among Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norwegian Shipowners
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