My talk at the TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Global Summit, Kochi.
I stood up to tell one story: how a small startup became the largest electric boat manufacturer in the country — and the region — now exporting to Canada and Israel.
It starts with a question. How many of you have been on a diesel boat? Was it loud? Did it smell of fuel? Did you notice the smoke? What you don’t see is the rest — unburnt fuel in the water, dirty bilges, and boats so overloaded they become unsafe. That is what causes accidents, like the one we just saw in Jabalpur.
For the Kerala Water Transport Department, the problem was simpler. The daily diesel bill was higher than the ticket revenue. So they floated a tender for a solar ferry. We grabbed it.
You can’t just bolt panels onto a heavy boat and call it electric. It won’t move. We rebuilt it from first principles — cut the weight from 35 tonnes to 17, reshaped the hull until the power needed dropped from 45 kilowatts to 15, doubled the solar area, and developed a battery that met the highest marine safety standards.
None of it was small. Before the boat was even built, experts went on record: this will never run on solar, and even if it does, it will be a catastrophe. They dragged us to the Vigilance offices. They filed a writ petition to stop the trials. And then — one of our boats, on fire. We still don’t know who did it.
If you step out to build something real, some challenges will have nothing to do with technology. Survive them, and you come out stronger.
We made it through. On 12 January 2017, Aditya — India’s first solar ferry — was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Power and the Chief Minister of Kerala. Nine years on, she’s carried over 30 lakh passengers across more than 2 lakh kilometres without a single drop of fuel. That’s 3 lakh litres of diesel saved, and ₹2.8 crore saved for the Government of Kerala.
We didn’t stop. India’s fastest electric boat. The largest solar boat in India. Cruise boats. A knock-down kit to Canada in five containers. A 75-passenger boat to the Maldives. In all — 85 boats across 12 states, plus Israel and the Seychelles. Next: a RORO for trucks and cars, flying boats above 55 km/h, electric cargo vessels on the Ganga and Mahanadi. And our endgame — the big ships that carry 90% of the world’s cargo.
At Navalt, we are actively electrifying marine transport — so that we can have cleaner and quieter oceans. That mission creates jobs. It creates wealth. And like every real enterprise, it builds the nation.
So my wish is that all of you become the entrepreneurs of the future. Become our nation builders.
Oceans was my path.
Go find yours.
Sandith Thandasherry 