The luxury cruise liner M.V. Empress, operated by Cordelia Cruises, which arrived at the Visakhapatnam International Cruise Terminal on Wednesday morning, was flagged off virtually by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) Sarbananda Sonowal, for Chennai later in the evening.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu extended best wishes and assured all support for the promotion of cruise tourism in the State.
Minister of State for MoPSW, Shantanu Thakur, reaffirmed the Government of India’s commitment to promoting Cruise Tourism across Indian Ports.
Minister for Tourism Kandula Durgesh, who participated in the programme, emphasised the State government’s proactive approach in developing tourist circuits and hubs, envisioning more cruise liners.
Secretary, MoPSW T.K. Ramachandran described the flag-off of M.V. Empress as a historic milestone for Andhra Pradesh’s cruise tourism journey and highlighted its potential to boost the local economy, in line with the Maritime India Vision.
Special Chief Secretary, Tourism & Culture, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Ajay Jain, assured full cooperation on behalf of the government to cruise tourism.
Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) Chairperson M. Angamuthu said that the VPA would sponsor 5,000 students annually in cruise-led skill development programmes, generating employment and contributing to the socio-economic upliftment of coastal regions.
He revealed plans to organise an Andhra-specific Cruise Dialogue to further accelerate Cruise Tourism development, in coordination with MoPSW, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Collector M. Harendhira Prasad, MP M. Sribharat, MLA Ch. Vamsi Krishna Srinivas and VPA Secretary T. Venu Gopal was present.
