Merida, Yucatan — State officials are analyzing whether it makes sense to haul whole cargo trucks on a Progreso-Veracruz ferry to avoid highway robberies.
The Yucatan delegate of the National Chamber of Cargo Autotransport, Francisco Rivas Gamboa, said yesterday that the National Association of Private Transportation proposed the ferry project. The chamber is in favor of the idea.
This would be the first such ferry system in Mexico, other than a smaller one in Baja California. It would take a day for a ferry to make it from port to port. By truck, the journey takes about 12 hours, not counting stops.
The officials are weighing cost benefits of hauling entire trucks by ferry while avoiding just some of the dangerous highways that drivers face. Robberies often occur in the other direction, between Veracruz and Puebla or Mexico City, and the ferries themselves could be targeted at sea.
The president of the Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism (Concanaco), José Manuel López Campos said that the plan should be considered a cost-reducing plan, not just to evade robberies.
The director of the National Association of Private Transport, Leonardo Gómez, announced that next week, in the XIX National Forum of Transport of Goods, an agreement will be signed with the Ministry of Communications and Transportation (SCT) to create a “maritime highway” between Veracruz and Yucatan, paving the way for the ferry route.
