Shipping Ministry and Civil Aviation Ministry sign MoU on seaplane services

New Delhi, June 16, 2021

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) signed a memorandum here on Tuesday for the development of seaplane services in India.

Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Mansukh Mandaviya and Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri were amongst those present at the signing ceremony.

An official press release said the signing of the MoU was a major milestone for making the seaplanes project a reality very soon.

The MoU envisages development of non-scheduled and scheduled operations of seaplane services under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN.

An official press release said a coordination committee with officials of the two Ministries as well as the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) would be set up to ensure timely completion of the operationalisation of seaplane services at various locations.

It said MoCA, MoPSW and Sagarmala Development Company Limited (SDCL) would consider operationalising of seaplane operating routes as identified and suggested by all agencies.

MoPSW would identify and develop waterfront infrastructure of aerodromes and locations and obtain required statutory clearances and approvals in coordination with MoCA, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) by defining the timelines for all activities involved in the development of facilities for starting seaplane operations.

MoCA will carry out bidding and select potential airlines operators based on their commercial consideration through bidding process, incorporate the locations and routes as identified by MoPSW and routes identified through bidding process in the UDAN scheme document.

MoCA is also obliged to provide funds and financial support in respect of water aerodromes awarded under RCS-UDAN scheme and coordinate with Chief Secretaries of all States for the seaplane operations.

Puri said the MoU would help in expediting the development of new water aerodromes and also operationalization of new seaplane routes in India. He further stated that this will give a big fillip to the provision of a new kind of tourism service in India.

Mandaviya stated that signing of the MoU will be a game changer for the Indian maritime and civil aviation sectors as it will not only enhance seamless connectivity across the nation by promoting eco-friendly transportation through seaplanes but also give a boost to the tourism industry.

NNN