Cruise! Kerala scrap seller’s catamaran vessel beckons

Express News Service

KOCHI: The lifetime of CA Kunjumon will not be one other rags-to-riches journey. Starting off as a scrap seller, the category 4 dropout had a dream of proudly owning a cruise vessel. Saving each penny he earned from his enterprise, he constructed one. Kunjumon bought a passenger boat and began working service for vacationers in Kochi backwaters round 15 years in the past. 

To fulfil his dream, he took a lakeside property at Vypeen on lease in 2016 and began the work by establishing a boat-building yard. Six years on, Minar, his catamaran double-deck sea cruise vessel, has been launched and it’s all set to begin service in a fortnight’s time. And Minar has bought the excellence of being the one personal catamaran class sea cruise vessel within the nation to get Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) registration.

“Around 150 tourist boats are operating from Marine Drive in Kochi. But they ply only in the backwaters. My dream was a double hull luxury cruise vessel that can take the tourists to the sea. When I started off, I didn’t have the resources, but the work was never affected. A team of 16 has been working day and night for the past six years to turn my dream into reality,” stated Kunjumon.

The vessel’s design is by naval architect and IRS guide Vijith Menon. Aismar Boat Builders’ Okay A Joseph, who has 43 years expertise in boat constructing, took the venture to fruition. “As it was my dream, I used to be concerned within the work from scratch.

We put in an enormous mould to construct the dual hull. Though the estimated price was `2 crore, the precise expense got here to double that quantity. I channelled all my earnings into the venture. The staff had been employed on day by day wages. Antony, a carpenter with 30 years of expertise in marine boat constructing, was answerable for the work. Except for 3 months in the course of the lockdown, the work was by no means affected,” stated Kochi resident Kunjumon.

However, his greatest problem was to supply a platform for vacationers to board the vessel at Marine Drive in Kochi. “Lack of a marina or terminal at Marine Drive is a big draw back. We are planning to approach the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation and Greater Cochin Development Authority to develop a marina where all, including elderly and differently abled persons, can board the vessel. As we are planning to start service in November, we will seek permission to build a temporary platform,” he stated.

Minar can be working two-hour cruise to a distance of 17km from morning to nighttime at reasonably priced charges. The goal group can be households of NRIs. Differently abled individuals can be accommodated freed from price, stated Kunjumon.

KOCHI: The lifetime of CA Kunjumon will not be one other rags-to-riches journey. Starting off as a scrap seller, the category 4 dropout had a dream of proudly owning a cruise vessel. Saving each penny he earned from his enterprise, he constructed one. Kunjumon bought a passenger boat and began working service for vacationers in Kochi backwaters round 15 years in the past. 

To fulfil his dream, he took a lakeside property at Vypeen on lease in 2016 and began the work by establishing a boat-building yard. Six years on, Minar, his catamaran double-deck sea cruise vessel, has been launched and it’s all set to begin service in a fortnight’s time. And Minar has bought the excellence of being the one personal catamaran class sea cruise vessel within the nation to get Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) registration.

“Around 150 tourist boats are operating from Marine Drive in Kochi. But they ply only in the backwaters. My dream was a double hull luxury cruise vessel that can take the tourists to the sea. When I started off, I didn’t have the resources, but the work was never affected. A team of 16 has been working day and night for the past six years to turn my dream into reality,” stated Kunjumon.

The vessel’s design is by naval architect and IRS guide Vijith Menon. Aismar Boat Builders’ Okay A Joseph, who has 43 years expertise in boat constructing, took the venture to fruition. “As it was my dream, I used to be concerned within the work from scratch.

We put in an enormous mould to construct the dual hull. Though the estimated price was `2 crore, the precise expense got here to double that quantity. I channelled all my earnings into the venture. The staff had been employed on day by day wages. Antony, a carpenter with 30 years of expertise in marine boat constructing, was answerable for the work. Except for 3 months in the course of the lockdown, the work was by no means affected,” stated Kochi resident Kunjumon.

However, his greatest problem was to supply a platform for vacationers to board the vessel at Marine Drive in Kochi. “Lack of a marina or terminal at Marine Drive is a big draw back. We are planning to approach the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation and Greater Cochin Development Authority to develop a marina where all, including elderly and differently abled persons, can board the vessel. As we are planning to start service in November, we will seek permission to build a temporary platform,” he stated.

Minar can be working two-hour cruise to a distance of 17km from morning to nighttime at reasonably priced charges. The goal group can be households of NRIs. Differently abled individuals can be accommodated freed from price, stated Kunjumon.