mid-day's 42nd anniversary: Let the good times Roll on, Roll Off

M2M Ferries Pvt Ltd Aashim Mongia 51 and Devika Saigal Kapoor 30They brought a vessel from Greece that can carry 900 people and 140 cars to launch a water transportation ventureWhen business partners Aashim Mongia and Devika Saigal Kapoor won the government tender for the Roll On Roll Off RORO service from Mumbai to Mandwa Alibaug the rejoicing was shortlived The ship started sailing from Greece and into India in February The launch took place in March 2020 but with Coronavirus throwing its shadow over India just then it was start lsquonrsquo stutter timeMongia director at Mumbai2Mandwa M2M Ferries Pvt Ltd said ldquoWe thought what bad luck how unfortunate this timingrdquo As the Ropax doubleended vessel which means it has ramps on both sides remained stationary Saigal director M2M said ldquoThere was trepidation It was upsetting as this was a huge project that had entailed considerable investmentrdquo The 10mile crossing from Ferry Wharf Mumbai to Mandwa seemed longer than the 4700 miles that the ship had sailed from Greece on its own power which means it was not brought on another vessel into IndiaThe directors did not know as yet that the start of ROROrsquos adversitypresentsopportunity story was just beginning As the Cyclone Nisarg screamed across the region mid last year leaving a trail of destruction in its wake the mint new RORO was pressed into service The ship carried the Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his entourage to the Konkan region in June 2020 as the CM wanted to witness the havoc that Nisarg had wreaked ldquoThat was an important triprdquo said Saigal 30 and Mongia 51 ldquoThere was a surge in confidencerdquo and post the initial lockdown the RORO started sailing in August 2020There were several factors working for the service First up said the directors ldquoAbsolute safety protocols were and are being followed on the ship With a capacity for 900 people we carry 500 The vessel can carry 140 cars That was another thing going for it people felt safe in their own vehicle They were socially distanced and in their cars with people they knew Third was that Alibaug a hip destination for Mumbairsquos high rollers for a couple of years now topped the charts as the goto getaway during lockdownrdquoldquoWe saw a unique phenomenon during this pandemic A lot of second homes became first homes for people with Work From Home WFM changing the corporate paradigm completelyrdquo said Mongia ldquoWe also saw an uptick in domestic tourism as the first wave seemed to be petering out Anywhere close to home seemed to be safe as the lockdown horror stories made people wary of being stranded too far away and of course not too many flights were operationalrdquo added SaigalThe RORO seemed to be hitting the highwater mark but then came the Coronavirus second wave knocked the wind out of the sails of the vessel literally Mongia said though that they continued to sail daily with Saigal adding ldquonow weekends are good business the weekdays have to pick uprdquo Mongia and Saigal agree that the RORO has been a breakthrough and may change the contours of the water transportation landscape in the countryThey are optimistic although Saigal added ldquothere is great uncertaintyrdquo Mongia added ldquoThere are too many moving targetsrdquo Of the future Saigal said ldquoWe look forward to tourists from across the country and foreigners too using the RORO when the country and the world opens up completelyrdquo Though used loosely at times in this case the RORO has truly earned the epithet of lsquogame changerrsquo