The slipway cradle commissioned in Kochi on Wednesday (October 8, 2025).
| Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat
Union Minister of State for Fisheries George Kurian on Wednesday commissioned a 250-tonne capacity slipway cradle here.The cradle carriage will support docking and maintenance capabilities for a diverse range of vessels from fishing boats to research vessels. The facility was built by the Fishery Survey of India (FSI) at a cost of ₹1.78 crore, according to a communication. The cradle is a heavy-duty steel structural platform designed for the safe hauling and launching of vessels up to 250-tonne displacement.In his inaugural address, the Minister said that the facility represented a milestone in the country’s journey towards realising the vision of a sustainable Blue Economy as envisaged by the Prime Minister.He added that transponders were being installed on fishing vessels in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation to ensure safety at sea and real-time communication. The system will also integrate the FSI’s potential for fishing ground forecasts, enabling fishermen to access reliable information on fish-rich areas directly through the transponders.FSI Director-General Sreenath K.R. said that the facility was a critical enabler for deep-sea fleet modernisation envisioned under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. George Ninan, Director of Central Institute of Fisheries Technology; Ashish Mehrotra, Deputy Inspector-General, Coast Guard; Sijo P. Varghese, FSI Zonal Director, and Dharmvir Singh, Director, Engineering, FSI, spoke, according to the release. Published - October 08, 2025 10:22 pm IST
