The per-passenger pontoon fee for private yacht rides at Mumbai’s Gateway of India may be reduced from about Rs 90 to Rs 50 under a proposal being discussed between yacht operators, the Mumbai Port Authority and the Royal Bombay Yacht Club.
State assembly speaker Rahul Narvekar, who is mediating between the Yacht Operators Welfare Association and the port authority, said efforts were under way to reach a settlement. “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,” he said.
Sources in the Mumbai Port Authority and the Royal Bombay Yacht Club confirmed that a proposal to reduce the fee was under discussion. The possible reduction follows a dispute over access to vessels operating from the Gateway of India, one of Mumbai’s main waterfront tourism locations.
The dispute began after Jetty No 5, located opposite the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, was closed on structural safety grounds. An iron gate has blocked the concrete slipway that yacht operators say they had used without charge for years. Operators have consequently become dependent on a paid floating pontoon to reach their vessels.
The Yacht Operators Welfare Association has approached the Bombay High Court, challenging the pontoon tariff and the arrangement under which the Royal Bombay Yacht Club manages the facility. Its petition seeks removal of the gate, restoration of free access to the slipway and permission for private operators to use other jetties.
According to the petition, operators used the concrete slipway free of charge from 2006. A floating pontoon was introduced in 2019 as an optional facility, while tariffs were approved by the Tariff Authority for Major Ports in December 2020. The association argues that the pontoon installed in 2025 is a different structure with a different owner, cost structure and user base, and that the earlier tariff cannot automatically apply without a fresh legal basis or approval.
YOWA joint secretary Chetan Rane questioned the applicability of the existing tariff. “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?” he said.
Rane said a speedboat’s average minimum passenger tariff was between Rs 500 and Rs 600. He added that a charge of Rs 90 to Rs 100 per passenger payable to the Mumbai Port Authority could reduce operators’ margins or eventually be passed on to tourists.
Some members of the yacht community said they were willing to pay applicable charges and GST and formalise operations through ticketing rather than cash transactions, provided the charges remained affordable. They also said passenger safety, vessel safety and security were priorities, and that reasonable fees could support tourism around Mumbai’s waterfront.
The petition also questions the Royal Bombay Yacht Club’s role in managing Jetty No 5, controlling access and collecting fees, alleging that the arrangement was made without a public tender or transparent competitive process. It further alleges that private boat owners were denied permission to use Jetty Nos 1 to 4.
The association has sought disclosure of the structural assessment for Jetty No 5, an independent audit and time-bound repairs. It has also raised concerns about the pontoon’s connection to the jetty and sought disclosure of agreements, permissions and accounts relating to the facility. The petition includes a request for refunds of charges allegedly collected without legal authority.
The Mumbai Port Authority and the Royal Bombay Yacht Club had been approached for comment, but no official responses had been received at the time of the report. Any reopening of the slipway will depend on a technical assessment and the required safety clearance.
