Registers increase from 2.84 mn tonnes to 5.13 mn tonnes
Shoma Patnaik
Panaji: After several years of insipid growth, inland water transport in the state witnessed a sharp improvement in 2025-26, with cargo traffic on the two national waterways, NW-68 (Mandovi River) and NW-111 (Zuari River), increasing to 5.13 million tonnes from 2.84 million tonnes in 2024-25.
Officials of the Captain of Ports Department, Panaji, said the jump in cargo was due to the transportation of iron ore from JSW Ltd’s mines in the state to Dolvi Port, Maharashtra.
“For the first time, iron ore was transported directly through waterways, i.e. from a hinterland jetty in the Mandovi River to the final destination of Dolvi Port, a captive port of JSW Ltd in Raigad district, in Statement of Compliance (SoC) barges,” said a senior official.
Besides iron ore, the state’s national waterways also witnessed an increase in cargo movement due to the transportation of imported coal for the production of pig iron.
SoC barges are certified by the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) and the COP for transporting cargo in inland water corridors and coastal routes. The state has around 15 SoC barges that have permission to ply in inland waters.
The Mandovi and Zuari rivers have played a limited role in enhancing inland water transport despite being notified as national waterways in 2016. Cargo movement on the national waterways hovered around 2.6 million tonnes between 2021 and 2024, with barely any growth.
“Revival of mining in the state, with more auctioned mines becoming operational, as well as better deployment of SoC barges,
is expected to see growth in cargo transportation on the national waterways in the coming years,” said a senior official.
With NW-88 (Sal River) set to open for cargo movement by March 2027, the state will have three functioning national waterways.
The Chapora River (NW-25) is slated to function as a national waterway in 2028-29, according to the central ministry.
As national waterways, the Sal and Chapora rivers are also expected to see the construction and development of terminals, weirs, navigational aids and other infrastructure.
