The Ferry From Mumbai To Goa Is Finally Ready To Set Sail

There was a point in our history when the only way to travel was by sea. To get anywhere - even somewhere as close as Goa - involved the magical process of boarding a ship and setting sail for your destination. In 1989 most of the passenger ships were requisitioned by the Indian Navy for the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) operations in Sri Lanka. 2017 was the year ship services between Mumbai and Goa were to be resumed, after a 26 year hiatus.

The joint decision between the Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) and the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) to restart regular ferries, would have changed how several of us approach travel. The ferry begins at Ferry Wharf or Bhaucha Dhakka in Mumbai, and would continue on till Goa, with a few stops on the way—Dighi in Raigad district, Dabhol and Jaigad in Ratnagiri district, Vijay Durg and Malvan before rounding off the journey at Panjim.

On Tuesday, Union minister Nitin Gadkari announced that this long-awaited adventure will finally be upon us and they set sail at the end of November. The plan is to introduce floating jetties at major hotels along the coast at which to disembark. However, according to ex-head of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) Francisco de Braganca, the better option would be to have a common berthing point for certain areas as these are less risky and less expensive than individual jetties for each hotel.

Though clearly there are still a few kinks to be worked out, this project has been in the offing since 2014 and we’re so overjoyed to see a government project finally come to fruition that we’re willing to overlook a few minor inconsistencies. Hopefully everyone knows how to swim.