Azhar Saeed
Pakistan’s long-overdue decision to license its first-ever international ferry service is a welcome and strategically significant move. For decades, a large number of Pakistanis, particularly low-income workers and religious pilgrims, have borne the brunt of prohibitively high airfares and unsafe land routes. With the recent approval granted to UK-based Sea Keepers for ferry operations to Iran, the government has finally begun to act on a long-standing gap in our regional mobility infrastructure.
Every year, over 1.5 million Pakistani workers travel to and from Gulf countries, most of them semi-skilled or unskilled laborers. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of religious pilgrims head to Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. For many of these individuals, the rising cost of air travel, driven by fuel prices, limited carrier options, and inflationary pressures, has become unaffordable. Round-trip tickets to Muscat, Dubai, or Najaf can now cost anywhere between PKR 150,000 to 230,000, pricing out travelers who have the least ability to absorb such costs.
Ferry travel is admittedly slower, but certainly cheaper. A well-managed ferry corridor between Karachi, Gwadar, and ports like Muscat, Dubai, and Bandar Abbas could reduce average travel costs by PKR 80,000 to 120,000 per passenger. Even if just 300,000 passengers shift from air to sea annually, a conservative estimate, the total savings for Pakistani travelers would amount to PKR 24 to 36 billion a year. These savings could boost remittances and bolster domestic consumption.
But the promise of ferry connectivity isn’t just economic, it is environmental. Aviation accounts for around 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions, and short-haul flights are among the most energy-intensive travel modes per kilometer. Modern ferries, especially those powered by hybrid electric-diesel systems or assisted by solar and wind technologies, offer a far greener alternative. While conventional ferries do consume fossil fuels, emerging designs, already operational in Scandinavia, Canada, and parts of India, demonstrate how carbon emissions can be cut by up to 80% per passenger journey.
If Pakistan adopts hybrid or net-zero vessels for its ferry fleet, and enforces green criteria for all future ferry licenses, the climate payoff could be substantial. Assuming 300,000 annual passengers shifting from air to sea, and a conservative estimate of 0.15 metric tons CO₂ saved per passenger, the annual emissions reduction could reach 45,000 metric tons. That’s equivalent to taking nearly 10,000 cars off the road every year. More importantly, it would contribute meaningfully toward Pakistan’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, especially in the transport sector, one of our fastest-growing sources of emissions.
Moreover, ferry services are naturally inclusive. Unlike air travel, which demands strict luggage restrictions and often unfriendly terminals, ferries offer spaciousness, affordability, and accessibility. Pilgrims can travel in groups. Workers can carry their belongings. And families can avoid the dehumanizing scramble for discounted airline seats. Add to this the multiplier effects on coastal economies, maritime logistics, and port services, and the ferry sector becomes a promising anchor for blue economy development.
To ensure that the full potential of ferry travelling is realized, the government needs to act on several fronts. First, expand the licensing regime to encourage multiple private operators, especially those willing to invest in clean energy vessels. Second, upgrade port infrastructure at Karachi and Gwadar to accommodate international passenger flows, with dedicated customs, immigration, and safety services. Third, launch ferry diplomacy – negotiate bilateral agreements with Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain to open maritime corridors for pilgrims, laborers, and tourists.
Pakistan has long spoken of regional integration, climate action, and economic inclusion. A robust and sustainable ferry network advances all three goals.
