LPG shortage brings Nagapattinam boatyards to a halt; hundreds lose work

LPG shortage halts Nagapattinam boatyards, leaving hundreds of workers jobless and delaying crucial fishing vessel repairs.

Welding work in progress on a new fishing vessel at a boatyard in Nagapattinam. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

An acute shortage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has brought operations at Nagapattinam’s boatyards — the second largest cluster in Tamil Nadu after Thoothukudi — to a near standstill, rendering several hundred workers jobless and disrupting the construction and repair of fishing vessels.

The disruption comes at a crucial time, with the annual fishing ban period approaching, when demand for new boats and repair work typically peaks.

Nagapattinam has four major boatyards catering to fishermen from Mayiladuthurai and neighbouring districts, as well as from Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and even the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Together, the yards construct between 50 and 100 vessels annually, including trawlers and deep-sea fishing boats.

The shortage of LPG and oxygen cylinders has hit core operations such as cutting, shaping and welding of steel components. “Without LPG and oxygen, even basic fabrication work cannot be carried out. Activity has come to a near halt,” said R. Saraboji, a boat construction manager.

Of the four yards, one has shut down while work in the others has slowed drastically. Typically, each yard employs 30 to 50 workers; at present, only three to five workers are engaged, mostly in minor or preparatory work.