One of the best perks of my job is the opportunity to meet amazing entrepreneurs across the entire spectrum of industries. Today I had the good fortune of interacting with some awesome entrepreneurs in the shipping and water transportation industry .. and of driving (or is it steering) a range of vehicles from 5m to 100m length. I started the day at Ferry Wharf mazagaon Mumbai with a trip on a massive 100m long 500 ton boat called a roro ferry operated by a joint venture led by Aashim Mongia and his partners under the m2m brand. This boat (if u can call it one though it is more like a floating city) carries 120 cars and upto 1000 people on a 40 minute trip from mumbai to Mandwa jetty in alibaug.
This boat service has shrunk the driving time from mumbai to alibaug from 4 hours to 40 mins (3 hours+ even with the Atal Setu). They have also helped create the Mandwa jetty into a tourism location in its own right, complementing the outstanding work of sailing entrepreneursZia Hajeebhoy and Shakeel of Aquasail India
Being on the bridge of the m2m boat was like being on a Star Trek bridge. The boat has four caterpillar engines of 500 kw each and moves at 20 knots. It has a 500 seater restaurant and an open air events space large enough to host a crowd the equivalent of a mid sized auditorium with its own parking lot. The boat was built in Greece and does five round trips a day. The service has done wonders to the real estate prices in Alibaug and the journey and the entertainment district at the landing point is a delight in itself. On the way back, you could buy fresh seafood, fresh off the fishing trawlers at Ferry Wharf.
One more format to be added to the GO Mobility Platform of the IIT Alumni Council. And kuddos to the entrepreneurs who made this happen.