Traffic Separation Scheme on the south-west coast of India

Proposal for establishment of Traffic Separation Scheme on the south-west coast of India – reg.

The Directorate General of Shipping has received representations from various Association’s

of Fishermen, which appears to be based on a news article containing insufficient information

about the proposed Traffic Separation Scheme [TSS]. It is clarified that the news items

stating that the TSS will be in the fishing grounds within 15-20 nautical miles of coastal

waters, is factually incorrect. The proposed TSS is still in the conceptual stage, and

stakeholder consultations are in progress. Additionally, the TSS lanes which are currently

under consideration is located at a distance of about 90 nautical miles west of Mangalore,

Karnataka with the lanes leading in a south-westerly direction to the southernmost tip and

ending about 40 nautical miles off south of Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. The average distance

from the coast is about 50 nautical miles.

Considering that there has been a surge in collision incidents between merchant vessels and

fishing vessels off the coast of Kerala, the Directorate General of Shipping has proposed the

establishment of a Traffic Separation Scheme [TSS] off the south-west coast of India. This

proposal is in the consultation stage and has been drawn taking into consideration past

collision incidents off the Indian coast, traffic patterns of merchant vessels for past years, and

optimum sea routes in consonance with the current traffic flow including simplification of

traffic in converging areas off the coast of Kerala. The proposal has also considered aspects

pertaining to the safety of navigation, maritime security and the separation of opposing

streams of traffic to reduce incidents of collision in Indian waters.

It is reiterated that stakeholder consultations are in progress and the TSS is yet to be finalised.

Before finalisation, the final proposal will again be put on the DGS website for information

and also forwarded to the concerned government agencies and stakeholders.

Once the TSS on the south-west coast of India is promulgated, it is expected that the density

of merchant traffic will shift away from the coast and merchant ship traffic will become more

concentrated in the established TSS. This is expected to result in more sea room for fishing

vessels to operate safely and will, therefore, be beneficial to the fishing industry.