Littoral Cruise Limited is in talks with the authorities to introduce cruise service between Chennai and Singapore enroute Visakhapatnam.
The Visakhapatnam International Cruise Terminal built with funds released from Ministry of Tourism and others was inaugurated by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal in September.
An agreement was signed by Littoral Cruises Limited promoter Raja Vaiz and Voc Port Authority, Tuticorin Traffic Manager Prabhakar at the just-concluded Global Maritime India Summit (GMIS) in Mumbai.
Vaiz told Bizz Buzz on Friday that they are in talks with Andhra Pradesh Tourism Minister RK Roja and others. They have plans to facilitate operation of two luxury vessels with Chennai as the home port.
The MoU signed at GMIS inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi envisages launching of the project in December this year to enable luxury cruises services between India-Sri Lanka-Maldives with an investment of Rs 1200 crore. Vaiz mentioned about the potential of around 3,000 jobs for the Indian seafarers.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonawal at MMRDA, Bandra.
Vaiz said the picturesque beach-valley combination and Buddhist sites offer all the ingredients to become a hub for cruise tourism.
At present, Shipping Corporation of India operates a passenger vessel between Visakhapatnam and Portblair. During the pandemic, Cordelia Cruise operated a high-end cruise between Visakhapatnam and Puducherry via Chennai.
