Gateway of India yacht operators could see their pontoon access fee reduced from about Rs 90 to Rs 50 per passenger under a proposed settlement being discussed between the operators, Mumbai Port Authority and the Royal Bombay Yacht Club. The move follows a dispute over access to Jetty No. 5 and the cost of reaching private vessels used for tourist rides.
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar is mediating between the Yacht Operators Welfare Association (YOWA) and the port authorities. “We are trying our best to arrive at a golden mean wherein both parties will be satisfied. We will ensure that it is halved from the existing rates,” Narwekar said, according to the Times of India.
The dispute began after Jetty No. 5, located opposite the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, was closed on structural safety grounds. An iron gate was subsequently placed across the concrete slipway leading to the jetty. Operators say they had used the slipway without charge for years and have now been forced to rely on a paid floating pontoon to reach their boats.
YOWA has challenged the pontoon tariff and the management arrangement before the Bombay High Court. The association is seeking removal of the gate, restoration of free access to the slipway and permission to use other jetties. It has also questioned whether the tariff being charged is legally applicable to the floating pontoon currently in use.
According to the petition, yacht operators had used the concrete slipway free of charge since 2006. A floating pontoon was introduced in 2019 as an optional facility, while its tariffs were approved by the Tariff Authority for Major Ports in December 2020. YOWA argues that the pontoon installed in 2025 is a different structure, with a different owner, cost structure and user base. It has questioned whether the earlier tariff can automatically be applied to the newer facility without fresh approval or a separate legal basis.
“How can a tariff formulated in 2018 for floating hotels be applied to us? Why cannot our jetty be repaired, as other jetties have been recently?” YOWA joint secretary Chetan Rane said. The association has maintained that operators are willing to pay legitimate charges but want rates that are rational and comparable with those paid by catamaran operators.
Rane said an average minimum fare for a speedboat ride is between Rs 500 and Rs 600 per passenger. A pontoon charge of Rs 90 to Rs 100 per passenger, he said, could significantly reduce operators’ margins and eventually be passed on to tourists, including Indian and foreign visitors using the Gateway of India waterfront.
The proposed reduction has not yet resolved the underlying access dispute. The fee proposal is being discussed as a possible settlement, while YOWA’s demands over the closed jetty, alternative access and the applicability of the tariff remain part of the wider disagreement. The next steps will depend on the ongoing mediation and proceedings before the Bombay High Court.
