Day 3 – 21 December 2020 - Surat to Alang – Hazira-Ghogha ferry and 75 km

When Rajiv had suggested the Hazira Ro-Ro-Ferry to travel from Surat to Gir I was incredulous and sceptical. However, when he told me the time it would save between Surat and Bhavnagar across the Gulf of Khambhat I was impressed and hence, wanted to try that out. Rajiv took on the responsibility of doing the bookings.

The Hazira-Ghogha ferry distance is barely 60 km that is covered in less than 4 hours during fair weather. The road distance is over 370 km. The cost for a ferry crossing is Rs. 1200 for the car and Rs. 600 per passenger for executive seating. I did not expect to see what I saw at the Hazira Ro-Ro terminal of the Adani operated Port. Having experienced ferries all over Europe and Canada I had substantially lowered my expectations of what I would encounter in Hazira.

But, at every step I was pleasantly amazed. First was the hassleless booking, which Rajiv did online. The ferry, which started with three services daily, does one trip a day these days. The MV Voyage has the capacity to take in 100 plus passenger vehicles and 30 odd cargo trucks. 

Rajiv and I drove from Ginger Hotel to the Hazira Ro-Ro terminal, a distance of 25 km. Second was the effortless check-in at the terminal. After quick examination of the papers Rajiv carried with him we were given wrist bands to wear and directed politely to the cavernous parking belly of the ferry. Thirdly, I was impressed by the wardens who silently did their job in making sure that each vehicle was in its slot and the passengers settled in their seats for the four hour ferry crossing.

Once the ferry left the terminal at the appointed time of 8 am we were permitted to use the aisles of the ferry and even go over to the open deck. People had come thoroughly prepared to picnic on board. Families spread out sheets, opened their tiffin boxes and feasted on their home cooked food. It was indeed a joy to watch people have a whale of a time eating, meeting and talking. After we had taken in the sights and used the mobile cams to our satisfaction we went back into the cabin to partake of the sumptuous breakfast of poha and fruit cuts Hetal had packed for us.

While we got to the vicinity of Ghogha ferry terminal in a bit over 4 hours of sailing, it did take quite a while to disembark. In all, the ferry was about an hour behind schedule. We were waved through quietly to disembark and hit the road to Alang short of 1 pm. The service on board the ferry can certainly be improved, but is definitely a good start.

The road from Ghogha to Alang largely wended through villages fronted by farming lands. The road condition was indifferent to poor, but works are underway in some places to improve facilities. Alang is the world’s largest graveyard of vessels, with the shipyards recycling more than half of all ships broken in the world. Over many years the yards have been extended and they handle supertankers, ferries, ocean liners, container ships, etc. Jalesh, a cruise vessel owned by the House of Zee, was waiting to give up its ghost in one of the yards and it was such a pity to see such magnificence going to seed.

The reason I included Alang in the itinerary was to survey the flourishing salvage market which deals with all items disposed from ships that are broken up in the yards. You name it, they have it; quilts, mattresses, sofa sets, linen, towels, cutlery, crockery, fridges, laundry machines, collectibles, AC, furniture, et al. However, to be borne in mind is that if your need is not immediate the item would most probably be ‘off the shelf’ in a couple of months. While there were many items available on a bargain I found the transportation cost to the southern destinations a wee bit forbidding unless the order quantities are sizeable.