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        Though I am a lover of military history, I have never worked in the armed forces. Unlike the Congress Ministers in the UPA Government who have contempt for the armed forces and their families, I have an ingrained sense of deep veneration bordering on reverence for the unknown soldiers, air men and sea men who guard the frontiers of India, ever prepared to lay down their lives for the survival of our nation and our disgraceful, ignorant, indolent and above all insolent Cabinet Ministers in New Delhi. I am presenting the following Marine, Maritime and Nautical facts after a long and exhilarating discussion with Captain H Balakrishnan who is an audacious naval strategist with rich and varied experience of service in the Indian Navy. Fiercely independent and courageous in thought, he is also brutally candid in discussion.

        The LTTE Factor

        He educated me about why and how LTTE would be the only direct and indirect beneficiaries of the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (SSCP)! All the Dravidian Parties (excepting perhaps the AIADMK) are open supporters of LTTE. I am not therefore surprised that T.R.Balu is just not worried about the following threats to national security. To quote the exact words of Captain H Balakrishnan: “The LTTE factor has a direct bearing on the safety of shipping navigating through the SSCP. The LTTE has control over most of North Sri Lanka coastal region and the seas contiguous to it. The Sea Tigers, the naval arm of the LTTE, have displayed considerable ingenuity and daring in sea borne insurgency. They have carried out numerous daring attacks on Sri Lankan naval ships, and have not hesitated in resorting to suicide missions. It is pertinent to note that the SSCP is a 'next-door-neighbour' in the area of operations of the Sea Tigers!! Finally the most disturbing fact relates to the new addition to the LTTE's fighting capability i.e. its 'Air Arm'. They have to date carried out THREE daring aerial 'night attacks' on Sri Lankan assets. This factor adds a new dimension to the threat perception along the SSCP. Reports also indicate that the flying training for the LTTE's pilots was carried out by hired mercenaries from South Africa. All the air attacks on Sri Lankan assets to date have been at night, indicating a high degree of proficiency. The SSCP falls within the radius of operation of these aircraft!! '' To effete, cowardly and lurking non-men like T R Baalu, the poor and destitute Brahmin Priests of Tamil Nadu going about their grind of daily chores on a bicycle, bare-bodied and wearing their sacred thread, perhaps pose a greater threat to our national security than Islamic or LTTE terrorists!

According to Media Reports of 28 April 2007 in Chennai, the recent killings of the TN fishermen at sea were carried out by the LTTE Sea Tigers. The reason for the killings, attributed to LTTE sources, was that these fishermen were 'spying' on the LTTE's activities at sea!! If that be the case, the possibility of the LTTE advancing the same argument for attacking ships navigating through the SSCP cannot be ruled out. The consequences of a ship sinking in the canal could have a disastrous impact on the viability of the project itself. It would have a psychological bearing on the shipping industry which may then tend to avoid the SSCP and circumnavigate Sri Lanka in the larger interests of safety of men and material.         NAVIGATIONAL AND ALLIED FACTORS         The official website of the SSCP states: 'Ships originating in the West of India and destined for Chennai, Ennore, Vishakapatnam, Paradeep, Haldia and Kolkata have to travel around the Sri Lankan coast resulting in increase of travel distance and time. Apart from this ships belonging to the Indian Navy and Cost Guard need also to traverse around Sri Lanka'.         A. Navy and Coast Guard         The Official SSCP Website statement about the Navy and the Coast Guard gives the misleading impression Naval/Coast Guard ships sail to and from either coast on a frequent basis. In reality this is not the case.         The navy has been operating on a 'Two Fleet' concept for over three decades, to safeguard our maritime interests on the Eastern and Western seaboards. New induction ships are allotted to both fleets to maintain the required Force Levels on both coasts. Thus the requirement for ships to cross over to the other coast is more the exception than the rule. At the most, they may meet annually for a combined Fleet exercise programme.

        To quote the sharp and succinct words of Captain H.Balakrishnan: ''Besides, peacetime sailings of the Fleet are to hone skill levels in battle-manoeuvres, missile and gun firings, submarine exercises, aircraft operations and underway re-fuelling exercise at sea. All these and other exercises are conducted in areas far removed from the coastal and international shipping lanes for obvious reasons. Under these circumstances and considering the security implications in the area contiguous to the SSCP, it is debatable whether a Fleet would prefer to navigate through the SSCP. Also, if the Fleet happens to be a carrier battle group, availing the SSCP route can be almost ruled out, on account of various tactical factors.''

        These known facts have been completely suppressed by T.R.Balu and his officers making it clear that they have had no interaction whatsoever with responsible authorities in the India Navy before finalising the SSCP. Thus anyone can see that everything about SSCP seems to be spurious, surreptitious, scurrilous and scandalous. And yet it has the solid support of the Prime Minister and his Council of impotent and irresponsible Ministers!

        B. Mercantile Marine

        It must be borne in mind that the SSCP is not an 'open seaway'. Thus for ships to safely traverse through the canal, it will be mandatory to embark a 'pilot'. A 'pilot' is a mariner with experience pertaining to local conditions. He would normally board a vessel at either extremity of the canal and take the vessel safely to the other extremity before disembarking. It is not clear at the present juncture, whether vessels calling at the SSCP will have a 'pilot' boarding on arrival. Delays in the boarding of the 'pilot' will entail the vessel to anchor and await the 'pilot'. Under adverse weather conditions this is not a comforting thought to a mariner. Besides, during cyclonic weather, sea conditions may preclude the embarkation of a 'pilot'. What does the vessel then do?

        All the available Official Source Literature on the SSCP indicates that only vessels upto 32,000 DWT can navigate through the canal. However, in the current global shipping scenario, to reduce the operating costs and cater to the enormous growth in shipping needs, established trends are towards operating vessels of 60,000 DWT and above. This trend is likely to grow further in future, resulting in vessels of larger tonnage. All the big ships with more than 100,000 DWT now going on the passage along the international shipping lane from South of Sri Lanka to South of the Great Nicobar Island will prove this point. None of these large vessels can avail of the restricted facility of the SSCP.

        Thus in overall effect the small and medium coal carrying bulk carriers on charter to the TNEB, will be the only ships that would be able to use the SSCP on a regular basis. These vessels load coal at Haldia/ Paradeep/ Vishakapatnam and discharge the same at Chennai and Tuiticorin for the Thermal Power Plants. Besides, some smaller container feeder vessels from Colombo and bound for Chennai could also use the SSCP.

        After a detailed analysis- both inductive and deductive- Mr K S Ramakrishnan IAS (Retd) former Deputy Chairman of Chennai Port Trust and former Managing Director of the Poompuhar Shipping Corporation, has made it abundantly clear that the pilotage cost of navigating through the SSCP and certain other allied factors could make the SSCP totally unattractive and therefore commercially unacceptable to the shipping industry. It is his opinion that the actual use of the SSCP maybe substantially lower than the projected figure of 3417 vessels by 2010 and 7141 vessels by 2025. Finally he has summed up by saying: ''The two statements that the ships using the canal will save money and that the project will be a financially viable undertaking are therefore mutually contradictory and cannot have simultaneous validity''.

        I have had a detailed discussion with George Gomez, Coordinator of the Tamilnadu Manual Workers' Union in Tuticorin. He is a marine man with several decades of experience in the shipping industry. According to him the official cost estimates of SSCP to the tune of Rupees 2400 Crores are totally wrong and unrealistic. The Project cost will definitely work out to more than Rs 3000 crores. To quote his own words: “SSCP will be a 'sick unit' right from the start as the money invested will never get recovered. I don't think any container ship will use the canal. Major container operators deploying mother-vessels, will never think of using the SSCP. The difference in time between ships using the canal and those going around Sri Lanka will only be a few hours. Ships would not be able to cruise fast in the canal because they will have to be piloted. Unavoidable pilotage means unforeseen contingencies and uncertainties involving continuous and unanticipated costs. Finally the most disastrous and deliberately suppressed fact about SSCP is that the canal will have to be dredged continuously leading to ever recurring and ever rising costs”.

        In the light of the foregoing analysis, it is debatable whether the investments made in the construction of the canal are justified from the security, environment or economic standpoints. The old adage 'Haste Makes Waste' readily comes to mind in the case of the SSCP. I cannot help concluding that T R Baalu rationally starves his conscience when he irrationally thrives in State!