<p data-path-to-node="4" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="4" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">KOCHI</b> — Cementing its position at the forefront of clean commercial vessel manufacturing, state-owned shipbuilding major Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has formally entered into a commercial shipbuilding agreement with an Indian-European multimodal logistics consortium to construct four zero-emission, battery-electric inland container vessels.</p><p data-path-to-node="5" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">The commercial contract accelerates the structural shift of containerized freight from congested road and rail arteries onto India’s riverine network. Purpose-built for the navigational parameters of National Waterway-1 (NW-1)—the Ganga–Bhagirathi–Hooghly river system spanning Haldia, Kolkata, Patna, and Varanasi—the shallow-draft vessels are engineered to establish scheduled, low-carbon container shuttle services between eastern maritime deepwater hubs and inland industrial manufacturing centers.</p><p data-path-to-node="6" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Aligned with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways’ (MoPSW) <i data-path-to-node="6" data-index-in-node="68" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Harit Nauka</i> green inland mobility guidelines and the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, the project builds on CSL’s proven pedigree in delivering electric and autonomous commercial vessels to Scandinavian and European operators, adapting cutting-edge marine electrification to subcontinental inland logistics corridors.</p><h4 data-path-to-node="8" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b>Vessel Architecture, Swappable Batteries, and Propulsion Specifications</b></h4><p data-path-to-node="9" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">The four next-generation container barges are engineered from the keel up to overcome the historical challenges of inland river transit in South Asia, characterized by sharp seasonal draft variances, strong river currents, and narrow lock chambers:</p><ul data-path-to-node="10" style="padding-inline-start: 32px; font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="10,0,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="10,0,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">120-TEU Container Intake:</b> Each vessel features an unobstructed open-top cargo hold configuration capable of carrying up to 120 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) or 2,400 metric tonnes of palletized finished goods, export agro-commodities, and industrial raw materials. The cellular guides are designed to accommodate standard ISO containers, high-cube boxes, and temperature-controlled reefer units.</p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="10,1,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="10,1,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Modular Containerized Battery Packs:</b> To eliminate deadweight vessel downtime caused by prolonged plug-in charging cycles, the barges incorporate modular, swappable Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) marine battery enclosures. Certified under Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) battery-propulsion notations, the swappable battery banks provide an operational cruising range of over 150 kilometers on a single charge.</p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="10,2,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="10,2,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">15-Minute Turnaround Battery Swapping:</b> Marine container terminals along NW-1 will utilize quayside container gantries to exchange depleted battery modules with fully charged containerized battery packs in under 15 minutes, enabling continuous 24/7 sailing schedules.</p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="10,3,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="10,3,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Low-Wash Hydrodynamic Hulls:</b> Constructed with lightweight high-tensile steel and an ultra-shallow operational draft of 2.2 to 2.5 metres, the hull form minimizes displacement wake wash, preventing riverbank soil erosion along ecologically sensitive stretches of the Gangetic basin.</p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="10,4,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="10,4,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Electric Podded Azimuth Drives:</b> Propulsion is delivered via twin high-efficiency permanent-magnet electric azimuth thrusters, delivering 360-degree vectoring agility that allows precise maneuvering through tight river bends, bridge piers, and lock gates without the assistance of harbor tugs.</p></li></ul><h4 data-path-to-node="12" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b>Multimodal Hinterland Integration and Freight Economics</b></h4><p data-path-to-node="13" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Deploying battery-electric container barges provides a cost-effective, high-capacity bypass around some of the country’s most congested surface transit chokepoints:</p><ul data-path-to-node="14" style="padding-inline-start: 32px; font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="14,0,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="14,0,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Direct Bypass of Highway Gridlock:</b> Operating between Kolkata/Haldia and upstream multimodal terminals at Sahibganj, Kalughat, and Varanasi, each barge voyage removes up to 120 heavy multi-axle freight trailers from saturated national highways like NH-19 and NH-31.</p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="14,1,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="14,1,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">35% Haulage Cost Compression:</b> Transport economic evaluations confirm that moving containerized cargo via electric river barges lowers per-tonne-kilometer freight tariffs by up to 35% compared to conventional long-haul diesel trucking, providing direct logistics cost savings to agricultural exporters and manufacturing units across West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.</p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="14,2,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="14,2,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Cold-Chain Preservation for Agro-Exports:</b> Outfitted with dedicated reefer plug matrices powered directly by the vessel’s DC microgrid, the barges guarantee uninterrupted temperature stability for high-value perishable shipments, including seasonal fruits, vegetables, processed food products, and marine exports heading toward Bay of Bengal transshipment ports.</p></li></ul><h4 data-path-to-node="16" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b>Zero Quayside Emissions and Environmental Safeguards</b></h4><p data-path-to-node="17" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">The transition to battery-electric propulsion delivers immediate ecological benefits across regional river ecosystems:</p><ul data-path-to-node="18" style="padding-inline-start: 32px; font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="18,0,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="18,0,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Zero Tailpipe Exhaust:</b> The vessels produce zero operational greenhouse gases, completely eliminating carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and toxic unburnt diesel soot along densely populated river corridors.</p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="18,1,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="18,1,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Acoustic Decarbonization:</b> Silent electric motors dramatically lower underwater acoustic disturbance and vibration, protecting vulnerable river biodiversity, including endangered freshwater river dolphins in the Ganga basin.</p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="18,2,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="18,2,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Integration with Renewable Terminal Charging:</b> Charging grids at inland river terminals will draw power from dedicated shoreside solar installations and open-access green energy grids, ensuring true Well-to-Wake (WtW) lifecycle decarbonization.</p></li></ul><h4 data-path-to-node="20" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b>Strategic Industry Perspectives and Fabrication Timetable</b></h4><p data-path-to-node="21" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Addressing the formal signing ceremony at the CSL administrative complex in Kochi, senior shipbuilding and waterways leadership highlighted the commercial significance of the newbuild order:</p><p data-path-to-node="22" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><i data-path-to-node="22" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">"Inland waterways represent the most energy-efficient surface transport mode available, yet scaling modern commercial operations requires purpose-built, high-technology tonnage. By engineering these 120-TEU battery-electric container barges, Cochin Shipyard is demonstrating that zero-emission vessel technology is commercially viable and ready for heavy-duty industrial application along India’s vital river arteries.</i></p><p data-path-to-node="23" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><i data-path-to-node="23" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">This contract proves that the policy framework established under Harit Nauka is catalyzing private capital into sustainable transport assets. We are building the physical green fleet that will make National Waterway-1 a high-velocity, low-cost logistics spine for the nation."</i></p><p data-path-to-node="24" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Fabrication will be shared between Cochin Shipyard’s specialized facilities in Kochi and its riverfront subsidiary Hooghly Cochin Shipyard Limited (HCSL) in Kolkata. Detailed engineering reviews and steel procurement schedules are underway, with the first two electric container barges scheduled for river trials and commercial commissioning by the second half of 2027.</p>