The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) said on Monday that in view of the cyclonic storm Ockhi, the Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) ferry service between Gogha and Dahej has been suspended with immediate effect.
“Noticing the cyclonic movement towards the State, the Gujarat Maritime Board has advised Indigo Seaways, the ferry operators, to suspend operations with immediate effect,” a GMB statement said.
Review tomorrow“The situation will be reviewed on December 5 evening and, if the conditions are found favourable, the services will be resumed on December 6,” it added.
The cyclonic storm Ockhi storm that lay centered over east-central and adjoining south-east Arabian Sea, moved further north-northwestward at a speed of 18 kmph. It is expected to cross South Gujarat near Surat by December 5 midnight. Meanwhile, the administration has stationed two NDRF teams each in Surat, Navsari and Rajkot.
Also, the military forces, including the Army, Navy, IAF, BSF have been alerted in Gujarat. The government has advised fishermen not to venture into the sea.
Moderate to heavy rainfall is also predicted.
The first phase of the Gogha-Dahej Ro-Ro ferry service launched on October 22, connects South Gujarat with Saurashtra, reducing the travel time from nine hours to one hour. To facilitate the service, two passenger terminals have been constructed, one at Dahej near Surat and the second at Gogha near Bhavnagar.