Twenty-foot equivalent unit
The twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals. It is based on the volume of a 20-foot-long intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box which can be transferred between different modes of transportation, such as ships and trucks; the container is defined by its length though there is a lack of standardisation in regard to height, ranging between 4 feet 3 inches and 9 feet 6 inches, with the most common height being 8 feet 6 inches. It is common to designate 45-foot containers as 2 TEU, rather than 2.25 TEU. The standard intermodal container is designated as 8 feet wide. Additionally there is a standard container with the same width but a doubled length of forty feet called a 40-foot container, which equals one forty-foot equivalent unit in cargo transportation. In order to allow stacking of these types a forty-foot intermodal container has an exact length of 40 feet, while the standard twenty-foot intermodal container is shorter having an exact length of 19 feet 10.5 inches.
The twistlocks on a ship are put at a distance so that two standard twenty-foot containers have a gap of three inches which allows a single forty-foot container to be put on top. The forty-foot containers have found wider acceptance; the length of such a combination is within the limits of national road regulations in many countries, requiring no special permission. As some road regulations allow longer trucks, there are variations of the standard forty-foot container — in Europe and most other places a container of 45 feet may be pulled as a trailer. Containers with a length of 48 feet or 53 feet are restricted to road transport in the United States. Although longer than 40 feet, these variants are put in the same class of forty-foot equivalent units; as the TEU is an inexact unit, it cannot be converted into other units. The related unit forty-foot equivalent unit, however, is defined as two TEU; the most common dimensions for a 20-foot container are 20 feet long, 8 feet wide, 8 feet 6 inches high, for a volume of 1,360 cubic feet.
However, both 9-foot-6-inch-tall High cube and 4-foot-3-inch half height containers are reckoned as 1 TEU. This gives a volume range of 680 to 1,520 cubic feet for one TEU. While the TEU is not itself a measure of mass, some conclusions can be drawn about the maximum mass that a TEU can represent; the maximum gross mass for a 20-foot dry cargo container is 24,000 kilograms. Subtracting the tare mass of the container itself, the maximum amount of cargo per TEU is reduced to 21,600 kilograms; the maximum gross mass for a 40-foot dry cargo container is 30,480 kilograms. After correcting for tare weight, this gives a cargo capacity of 26,500 kilograms. Twenty-foot, "heavy tested" containers are available for heavy goods such as heavy machinery; these containers allow a maximum weight of 67,200 pounds, an empty weight of 5,290 pounds, a net load of 61,910 pounds. Container ship Container terminal Containerization List of unusual units of measurement Panama Canal toll system Shipping ton Maersk Shipping.
"Maersk Container Brochure". Maersk. Archived from the original on 2008-11-15. Retrieved 2008-10-25. CIRCA. "Glossary: TEU". The European Commission. Archived from the original on 2008-04-14. Retrieved 2008-03-20. Rowlett, Russ. "How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2008-03-20. Bohlman, Michael. "ISO's container standards are nothing but good news". ISO Bulletin. International Organisation for Standardisation: 15. Archived from the original on 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2008-03-20. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. "Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit". Glossary of Statistical Terms. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 2008-03-20
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Peninsula, on the southeast by the Laccadive Sea, on the southwest by the Somali Sea, on the east by India. Its total area is 3,862,000 km2 and its maximum depth is 4,652 metres; the Gulf of Aden in the west, connects the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea through the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, the Gulf of Oman is in the northwest, connecting it to the Persian Gulf. The Arabian Sea has been crossed by many important marine trade routes since the third or second millennium BCE. Major seaports include Kandla Port, Okha Port, Mumbai Port, Nhava Sheva Port, Mormugão Port, New Mangalore Port and Kochi Port in India, the Port of Karachi, Port Qasim, the Gwadar Port in Pakistan, Chabahar Port in Iran and the Port of Salalah in Salalah, Oman; the largest islands in the Arabian Sea include Socotra, Masirah Island and Astola Island. The Arabian Sea's surface area is about 3,862,000 km2.
The maximum width of the Sea is 2,400 km, its maximum depth is 4,652 metres. The biggest river flowing into the Sea is the Indus River; the Arabian Sea has two important branches — the Gulf of Aden in the southwest, connecting with the Red Sea through the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb. There are the gulfs of Khambhat and Kutch on the Indian Coast; the countries with coastlines on the Arabian Sea are Somalia, Oman, Pakistan and the Maldives. There are several large cities on the sea's coast including Male, Cape Comorin, Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Kozhikode, Kasaragod, Bhatkal, Vasco, Malvan, Alibag, Daman, Surat, Khambhat, Diu, Mangrol, Dwarka, Jamnagar, Gandhidham, Koteshwar, Keti Bandar, Ormara, Gwadar, Muscat, Salalah, Al Ghaydah, Aden and Hafun; the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Arabian Sea as follows: On the west: the eastern limit of the Gulf of Aden. On the north: a line joining Ràs al Hadd, east point of the Arabian Peninsula and Ràs Jiyùni on the coast of Pakistan.
On the south: a line running from the southern extremity of Addu Atoll in the Maldives, to the eastern extremity of Ràs Hafun. On the east: the western limit of the Laccadive Sea a line running from Sadashivgad on the west coast of India to Cora Divh and thence down the west side of the Laccadive and Maldive archipelagos to the most southerly point of Addu Atoll in the Maldives; the Arabian Sea and geographically has been referred to by many different names by Arabian and European geographers and travellers, including Indian Sea, Persian Sea, Sindhu Sagar, Arabbi Samudra, Erythraean Sea, Sindh Sea, Akhzar Sea. The Arabian Sea has been an important marine trade route since the era of the coastal sailing vessels from as early as the 3rd millennium BCE the late 2nd millennium BCE through the days known as the Age of Sail. By the time of Julius Caesar, several well-established combined land-sea trade routes depended upon water transport through the Sea around the rough inland terrain features to its north.
These routes began in the Far East or down river from Madhya Pradesh with transshipment via historic Bharuch, traversed past the inhospitable coast of today's Iran split around Hadhramaut into two streams north into the Gulf of Aden and thence into the Levant, or south into Alexandria via Red Sea ports such as Axum. Each major route involved transhipping to pack animal caravan, travel through desert country and risk of bandits and extortionate tolls by local potentates; this southern coastal route past the rough country in the southern Arabian Peninsula was significant, the Egyptian Pharaohs built several shallow canals to service the trade, one more or less along the route of today's Suez canal, another from the Red Sea to the Nile River, both shallow works that were swallowed up by huge sand storms in antiquity. The kingdom of Axum arose in Ethiopia to rule a mercantile empire rooted in the trade with Europe via Alexandria; the Port of Karachi is Pakistan's busiest seaport. It is located between the Karachi towns of Saddar.
The Gwadar Port is a warm-water, deep-sea port situated at Gwadar in Balochistan, Pakistan at the apex of the Arabian Sea and at the entrance of the Persian Gulf, about 460 km west of Karachi and 75 km east of Pakistan's border with Iran. The port is located on the eastern bay of a natural hammerhead-shaped peninsula jutting out into the Arabian Sea from the coastline. Port of Salalah in Salalah, Oman is a major port in the area; the International Task Force uses the port as a base. There is a significant number of warships of all nations coming in and out of the port, which makes it a safe bubble; the port handled just under 3.5m teu in 2009. Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai is the largest port in the Arabian Sea, the largest container port in India. Major Indian ports in the Arabian Sea are Mundra Port, Kandla Port, Nava Sheva, Kochi Port, Mumbai Port, Mormugão. There are several islands in the Arabian Sea, with the most important ones being Lakshadweep
Laccadive Sea
The Laccadive Sea or Lakshadweep Sea is a body of water bordering India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka. It is located to the west of Kerala and to the south of Tamil Nadu; this warm sea is rich in marine life. The Gulf of Mannar alone hosting about 3,600 species. Mangaluru, Kochi, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Tuticorin and Malé are the major cities on the shore of the Laccadive Sea. Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of peninsular India borders this sea; the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Laccadive Sea as follows: On the West. A line running from Sadashivgad Lt. on West Coast of India to Corah Divh and thence down the West side of the Laccadive and Maldive Archipelagos to the most Southerly point of Addu Atoll in the Maldives. On the South. A line running from Dondra Head in Sri Lanka to the most Southerly point of Addu Atoll. On the East; the West coasts of Sri India. On the Northeast. Adams Bridge. Water temperature is rather constant through the year, averaging 26–28 °С in summer and 25 °С in winter.
Salinity is up to 35.5 ‰ in the south. The coasts are sandy but the deeper parts are covered in silt. There are numerous coral reefs in the sea, such as the Lakshadweep islands which are made up of atolls and contain 105 coral species; the Gulf of Mannar is known for its pearl banks of Pinctada radiata and Pinctada fucata for at least two thousand years. Pliny the Elder praised the pearl fishery of the gulf as most productive in the world. Although extraction of natural pearls is considered too expensive in most parts of the world, it is still conducted in the gulf. Collected in large numbers are Shankha mollusks whose shells are used as a ritual and religious object. Other mollusks of the sea are either too scarce or not popular in the Indian society and therefore have no commercial value. Another traditional occupation in the Laccadive Sea is fishing; the annual fish catch is 2,000 to 5,000 tonnes from the Lakshadweep islands, constituted by tuna and shark. Perches, Carangidae and rays are caught near the reefs.
Shrimp and small fish, such as Sprattus and Apogonidae are used as a bait by the Laccadive islanders. With about 3,600 species of flora and fauna, the Gulf of Mannar is regarded as one of the richest marine biological resources in the world. Of these 3,600 species, 44 are protected, 117 are corals, 79 crustaceans, 108 sponges, 260 mollusks, 441 fin fishes, 147 seaweeds and 17 mangroves. In 1986, a group of 21 islands and nearby waters with the total area of 560 km² were declared Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park; the park and its buffer zone were designated as a Biosphere Reserve in 1989. The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 10,500 km² of ocean and the adjoining coastline, is the largest such reserve in India. Most of its area is restricted for outsiders and the access of boats is subject to strict rules, but local people continue fishing activities which they crucially depend on. About 150,000 people live in the buffer zone, more than 70% of them depend on the coastal marine resources.
There are about 125 fishing villages with 35,000 active fishers and 25,000 divers for sea cucumbers in the area, about 5,000 women collect seaweed. About 106,000 tonnes of fish were produced in the gulf in 2006 oil sardines, lesser sardines, mackerel, penaeid shrimp, squid, deep-sea lobster, crab and rays; the seaweed collection aims at shallow-water species Gelidiella acerosa, Gracilaria edulis, Sargassum spp. Turbinaria and Ulva lactuca, is conducted between October and March; because of National Park related restrictions, the production of seaweeds declined from 5,800 tonnes in 1978 to 3,250 tonnes in 2003. Marine Protected Areas in India, International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, April 2008, ISBN 978-81-904590-9-9
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the whole of the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, parts of Odisha, Kerala and the union territory of Lakshadweep; the city of Madras was the winter capital of the Presidency and Ootacamund or Ooty, the summer capital. The island of Ceylon was a part of Madras Presidency from 1793 to 1798 when it was created a Crown colony. Madras Presidency was neighboured by the Kingdom of Mysore on the northwest, Kingdom of Kochi on the southwest, the Kingdom of Hyderabad on the north; some parts of the presidency were flanked by Bombay Presidency. In 1639, the English East India Company purchased the village of Madraspatnam and one year it established the Agency of Fort St George, precursor of the Madras Presidency, although there had been Company factories at Machilipatnam and Armagon since the early 1600s.
The agency was upgraded to a Presidency in 1652 before once more reverting to its previous status in 1655. In 1684, it was re-elevated to a Presidency and Elihu Yale was appointed as president. In 1785, under the provisions of Pitt's India Act, Madras became one of three provinces established by the East India Company. Thereafter, the head of the area was styled "Governor" rather than "President" and became subordinate to the Governor-General in Calcutta, a title that would persist until 1947. Judicial and executive powers rested with the Governor, assisted by a Council whose constitution was modified by reforms enacted in 1861, 1909, 1919 and 1935. Regular elections were conducted in Madras up to the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. By 1908, the province comprised twenty-two districts, each under a District Collector, it was further sub-divided into taluks and firqas with villages making up the smallest unit of administration. Following the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms of 1919, Madras was the first province of British India to implement a system of dyarchy, thereafter its Governor ruled alongside a prime minister.
In the early decades of the 20th century, many significant contributors to the Indian independence movement came from Madras. With the advent of Indian independence on 15 August 1947, the Presidency became the Madras Province. Madras was admitted as Madras State, a state of the Indian Union at the inauguration of the Republic of India on 26 January 1950, was reorganised in 1953 & 1956; the discovery of dolmens from this portion of the subcontinent shows inhabitation as early as the Stone Age. The first prominent rulers of the northern part of the future Presidency were the Tamil Pandya dynasty. Following the decline of the Pandyas and the Cholas, the country was conquered by a little known race of people called the Kalabhras; the country recovered under the subsequent Pallava dynasty and its civilisation attained a peak when the Telugu kings started acquiring vast places in Tamil Nadu. Following the conquest of Madurai by Malik Kafur in 1311, there was a brief lull when both culture and civilisation began to deteriorate.
The Tamil and Telugu territories recovered under the Vijayanagar Empire, founded in 1336. Following the empire's demise, the country was split amongst numerous sultans and European trading companies. Between 1685 and 1947, a number of kings ruled the areas. On 31 December 1600, Queen Elizabeth I of England granted a group of English merchants a charter to establish a joint-stock company which became known as the East India Company. Subsequently, during the reign of King James I, Sir William Hawkins and Sir Thomas Roe were sent to negotiate with the Mughal Emperor Jahangir to permit the establishment of trading factories in India on behalf of the Company; the first of these were built at Surat on the west coast and at Masulipatam on the country's eastern seaboard. Masulipatam is thus the oldest English trading post on India's east coast, dating back to 1611. In 1625, another factory was established at Armagon, a few miles to the south, whereupon both the factories came under the supervision of an agency based at Machilipatam.
The English authorities decided to relocate these factories further south, due to a shortage of cotton cloth, the main trade item of the east coast at the time. The problem was compounded; the East India Company's administrator Francis Day was sent south, after negotiations with the Raja of Chandragiri he obtained a land grant to set up a factory in the village of Madraspatnam, where the new Fort St George was built. An agency was created to govern the new settlement, the factor Andrew Cogan of Masulipatnam was appointed as its first Agent. All the agencies along India's east coast were subordinated to the East India Company presidency of Bantam in Java. By 1641, Fort St George became the Company's headquarters on the Coromandel Coast. Andrew Cogan was succeeded by Thomas Ivie and Thomas Greenhill. At the end of Greenhill's term in 1652, Fort St George was elevated to a Presidency, independent of Bantam and under the leadership of the first president, Aaron Baker. However, in 1655 the status of the fort was downgraded to an Agency and made subject to the factory at Surat, until 1684.
In 1658, control of all the factories in Bengal was given to Madras, when the English occupied the nearby village of Triplicane. In 1684, Fort St George was again elevated in rank to become the Madras Presidency, with William Gyfford as its first president. During this period
Vembanad
Vembanad is the longest lake in India, the largest lake in the state of Kerala. Spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Vembanadu Lake in Kottayam, Punnamada Lake in Kuttanad and Kochi Lake in Kochi. Several groups of small islands including Vypin, Vallarpadam, Willingdon Island are located in the Kochi Lake portion. Kochi Port is built around the Vallarpadam island; the Nehru Trophy Boat Race is conducted in a portion of the lake. High levels of pollution have been noticed at certain hotspots of the Vembanad backwaters. Government of India has identified the Vembanad wetland under National Wetlands Conservation Programme; the Vembanad wetland system covers an area of over 2033.02 km² thereby making it the largest wetland system in India. Of this, an area of 398.12 km² is located below the MSL and a total of 763.23 km² area is located below 1 m MSL. The lake is bordered by Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts, it is situated at the sea level, is separated from the Laccadive Sea by a narrow barrier island.
Canals link the lake to other coastal lakes in the south. The lake surrounds the islands of Pathiramanal and Pallippuram; the Vembanad Lake is 14 kilometres wide at its widest point. The lake is a part of Vembanad-Kol wetland system which extends from Alappuzha in the south to Azheekkode in the north, making it by far, India's longest lake at just over 96.5 km in length. The lake is fed by 10 rivers flowing into it including the six major rivers of central Kerala namely the Achenkovil, Meenachil, Muvattupuzha and Periyar; the total area drained by the lake is 15,770 km ². Its annual surface runoff of 21,900 Mm accounts for 30% of the total surface water resource of the state; the most popular location on the shores of the lake is the Kumarakom Tourist Village situated on the east coast of the lake. The Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is located on the northern fringes of Kumarakom village; the Vembanad Wetland system was included in the list of wetlands of international importance, as defined by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands in 2002.
It is the largest of the three Ramsar Sites in the state of Kerala. Vembanad lake has been reclaimed over the course of the past century with the water spread area reducing from 290.85 km² in 1917 to 227 km² in 1971 and 213.28 km² in 1990. In the same period 63.62 km of erstwhile water spread were reclaimed for formation of polders and to enlarge the extent of the Wellington island of Cochin port. The lake faces a major ecological crisis and has reduced to 37 per cent of its original area, as a result of land reclamation. A unique characteristic of the lake is the 1,252 metres -long Thanneermukkom salt water barrier constructed as a part of the Kuttanad Development Scheme to prevent tidal action and intrusion of salt water into the Kuttanad low-lands, it is the largest mud regulator in India and divides the lake into two parts - one with perennial brackish water and the other with fresh water from rivers draining into the lake. This barrier has helped farmers in Kuttanad by freeing the area of salinity and allowing them an additional crop in the dry season.
The Thanneermukkom barrier is located at one of the narrower parts of the Vembanad Lake. Only two-thirds of the original number of gates are opened in July to release flood flow; these gates remain closed until mid-November. The main drawback of the structure has been the loss of opportunity for fish and prawns to migrate upstream, an increase in weed growth in the upstream restricting the natural flushing of pollutants; the Thanneermukkom bund has created ecological problems the rampant propagation of the Water Hyacinth in fresh water. Over 1.6 million people live on the banks of the Vembanad lake and are directly or indirectly dependent on it for their livelihoods. The port of Kochi is located at the lake's outlet to the Laccadive Sea; the town of Alappuzha, sometimes called the "Venice of the East" for its large network of canals that meander through the town - is sandwiched between the lake and the Laccadive sea. Vembanad Lake is at the heart of Kerala Backwaters tourism with hundreds of kettuvallams plied on it and numerous resorts on its banks.
The Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is located on the east coast of the lake. The lake has become a major tourist attraction. A safe destination, this place had just one incident of tourist harassment in 2004 as reported in The Times of India; the Vembanad Wetland system has formed an intricate network of estuaries and canals which spans over 196 km in the north-south and 29 km in the east-west directions. All villages in these areas can be accessed via water transport; the major rivers of Muvattupuzha, Meenachil and Achencovil rivers, are all navigable up to distances of about 30 km upstream in the tidal reach. The Kottappuram-Kollam segment of the west coast canal system has a major chunk passing through the Vembanad Lake and spans a total of 209 km, it has been declared as a National Waterway. Vembanad Kol Wetland was included in the list of wetlands of international importance, as defined by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, it is home to more than 20,000 waterfowls - the third largest such population in India.
It is an ideal habitat for shrimps. Major livelihood activities of the people living on the shores of the lake include agriculture, tourism, inland navigation, coir retting, lime shell collection; the uncontrolled mining of shells from the lake bed is posing a threat to the e
Durbar Hall Ground
The Durbar Hall Ground is a popular location for various cultural activities in the city of Kochi, India. The compound of the ground has the Durbar Hall, which now functions as an art gallery; the ground itself is used for various cultural programmes of interest to the general public. Most of the details of this section have been obtained from The Durbar Hall Ground has been witness to great moments in the history of Kochi; this 2-acre property, once owned by the Maharajah of Cochin, was the venue for some glittering events. It was here. In fact, the durbar was held at the present day building, which houses the Durbar Hall Art Gallery, with the public gathering at the spacious ground; some of the significant proclamations, like the administrative reforms of 4 January 1938, the new constitution of the Cochin State of 17 June 1938, the formation of the Cochin State Central War Committee on 28 June 1940, were all made at this ground. During those early days this ground was used for exhibitions, football games, regular military parades and for the processions taken out in connection with the Shiva Temple festival.
This ground and the path leading from it to the temple nearby, was out of bounds to those of the lower rungs of the society. A change in this law came about only after the Temple Entry Declaration, it was at the Kulapuramalika that stands at one end of this ground, that Appan Thampuran and Kunjukuttan Thampuran launched `Rasikaranjini,' the famous literary magazine. And it was here during World War II, that the war committee organised a spectacular war exhibition, considered one of the finest spectacles of the time. Half of the ground was used for the construction of residential quarters for District collector and for official residences of Judges of High court of Kerala. Present day ground is just half of the original size after these encroachments including for widening Durbar Hall Road and creating Parking space for Rama varma Club; the ground lost its aestheticism due to renovation by demolishing old band house and new un aesthetic construction including creating parking space inside the ground.
Old timers still remember some of the football matches played at this venue like the ones between the local Town Club and the British army men. For a long time this was the main venue for cricket; the small band shed at the North East end of the ground served as a pavilion and the dwarf walls around the ground were packed with supporters of the sides. Widening of the road near the Rama Varma Club reduced the size of the ground forcing the organisers to seek a new venue for these popular fixtures; this ground was home to the Swantons Cricket Club for long till the recent renovation of the place forced them to seek a new home. For a long while this ground remained served as a dump yard of sorts; the ground, now owned by the Revenue Department, was spruced up giving it a lush green look, new sparkling walkways and everything to serve as a leisure spot. With an investment of Rs. 49.94 lakhs, the District Tourist Promotion Council undertook the restoration and beautification work. An open-air auditorium, the band stand, light towers to ensure proper lighting and park facilities have all gone to give this ground a facelift.
The Durbar Hall Ground is located on the Durbar Hall Road, perpendicular to, cuts the Park Avenue Road, MG Road and Chittoor Road. It has two entrances, one opposite the TDM Hall, another on the northern side opposite the Rama Varma Club. Most of the details of this section have been taken from, Until 2002, the ground was used as a dumping yard or sorts, including things like civic waste and garbage. Further, it had a cricket pitch, extensively used for practice by the local Swanton's Cricket Club. In 2002, the Ernakulam District Tourism Promotion Council launched the beautification programme at a cost of around 50 lakh INR; the beautification programme led to a new look for the ground, which now boasts of a green lawn, a walkway, a parking lot, an open-air stage with state-of-the-art facilities and huge light towers. The Durbar Hall, in ruins in the mid-1990s was subjected to a beautification, which gave it a magnificent new look; the Durbar Hall beautification was carried out in the 1998-1999 timeframe
Kochi Marina
The Kochi International Marina is a marina in the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. It is located in the eastern coast of the Bolgatty Island, in the premises of the Bolgatty Palace, a'heritage hotel'; the Kochi Marina is the only marina in India. It is owned by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation; the marina provides berthing facility for yachts and offers services like fuel, water and sewage pump-outs for boats. The marina is close to the international maritime route at the south west coast of the Indian Peninsula, with favourable conditions and minimum tidal variations throughout the year; the Kochi International Marina started operations on 24 April 2010. It is the first full-fledged marina of international standards in India; the Marina is owned and operated by KTDC. It was implemented by KITCO for and on behalf of KTDC. Sharjah’s Hamriyah Free Zone-based Gulf Marinas did the construction under the supervision of KITCO; the Marina is now managed by Mumbai based Ocean Blue.
The Kochi Marina houses facility for berthing around 34 yachts. This will be further upgraded to 50 berths. Construction of a three-storey building on the north-eastern side of the Bolghatty Palace hotel to accommodate sailors from across the world is complete. KTDC had spent Rs 8.21 crore on Phase -1 of the project with a central assistance of Rs 4 crore. A two-lane road connecting the main land with the island is ready. Repair and maintenance facilities for the yachts available at the Marina. Kochi is an ideal berthing spot for yachts from the West, crossing Suez Canal and travelling towards the north eastern parts of Asia. There are no intermediate berthing facilities for yachts leaving Dubai until they reach their destinations in the Far East. Situated just 11 nautical miles from the international maritime route, Kochi has one of the best natural ports in Asia where Dubai Ports World is building an international container transshipment terminal. Kochi became a touching place of Luxury cruise lines.
During the last one decade, Kochi had become a major destination for sea-based adventure tourism. On an average 100 yachts visit Kochi every year of which majority is from European countries such as the United Kingdom and Norway apart from New Zealand and Australia; the Cochin Port Trust is building a cruise terminal on the nearby Willington Island. Since Kochi is the nearest port on the international maritime route between the west and the east more adventurous seafarers prefer this port; the marina will have facilities for filling fuel and food items. Facilities like golf course, swimming pool, health club and beer parlour will be provided for the sailors. Floating docks built on concrete beams is the major attraction of the project. A board walk - wooden structure protruding into the back waters in order to facilitate other tourists to see the yachts has been arranged. Additional 16 docks would be added in the next phase and additional facilities would be provided on 2 acres of reclaimed land adjacent to the island.
Marina House, built in the traditional Kerala architectural style, is an essential part of Kochi International Marina that serves as a station for vessels to refuel and to replenish their stores. Besides, the Marina House provides 24 deluxe rooms including 4 suite rooms, a recreation centre and cafeteria, will be managed by Tourists ResortsKerala Limited, a subsidiary of KTDC. List of marinas List of Tourist attractions in Kochi
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