Kollam: Floating water debris collector on cards

Kollam: The scenic backwaters of the state are fighting pollution, especially from plastic, like never before.

The issue of discarding trash in waters has grown out of proportion as instances of ferry propellers getting entangled with plastic ropes, or remains of fishing nets, are frequently happening, not to mention the threat to marine species.

Now a Kochi-based firm is developing a floating water debris collector. It automatically collects marine debris.

NavAlt solar and Electric Boats’, the manufacturer of the country’s first solar ferry ‘Aditya’, has nearly completed designing the equipment which they plan to roll out in another six months.

“The boat-like equipment is designed small - two metres by one - and is expected to cost Rs 10 lakh when completed. It’s fully autonomous, i.e., you only need to demarcate the area and set working hours. The machine will automatically manoeuvre and collect the debris. It can be used in a swarm or individually mainly in navigation routes as per requirement,” said Sandith Thandasherry, NavAlt CEO.

By limiting the size, the equipment can roll out with minimum registration and other procedures from authorities like Port Trust.

“Such devices are widely used in foreign countries. What has forced us to indulge in the experiment is frequent trouble encountered by SWTD boats in Kochi backwaters when plastic ropes or nylon fishing nets get entangled in propellers. Even Vega, the fast ferry deployed in Vaikom-Ernakulam section, developed technical glitch due to the issue twice,” he said.

According to him, the issue is more rampant in the region near Kochi Port.
“We’ve already received a couple of inquiries from firms showing interest in such equipment. We plan to test the one under construction in Kochi backwaters. Based on its success, we’ll decide on the next course of action,” he said.