Sea cruise tourism in limbo

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, Sep 13, 2012: The tourism department’s efforts to make Vizag a sea cruise tourism hub in the state will not materialise soon, due to non-availability of a suitable place to develop a cruise terminal.

Of the available port area, only the present fishing harbour location is suitable. Though there was a proposal to shift the fishing harbour to Bheemili, it will at least take four years to do so.

Realising the potential, STAR cruise are approaching government for permission to start their cruise liners from Vizag to Port Blair; the tourism department plans to develop a cruise terminal at a cost of Rs.200 crore.

This cruise terminal will have a shopping mall, food courts, convention and business centre with first class amenities to attract foreign tourists too. “Though the waterfront at the Yerada Beach suits a terminal, backwaters there will not allow cruise liner vessels to be docked. There is a lot of pollution in the inner harbour. The fishing harbour is the ideal location with 12 feet draft depth to anchor the cruise, but the cruise terminal can come up only after the fishing harbour is shifted,” said Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) chairman Ajeya Kallam.

AMET Shipping which brought its cruise liner AMET Majesty to the city last August, also faced problems in berthing the vessel in the port.

Shifting the fishing harbour will take place as part of developing a satellite minor port at Bheemili, which the VPT will take up only after finishes its berth modernisation and mechanisation process that is underway at Vizag port.

“We will concentrate on Bheemili port development only after ongoing works of berth modernisation are completed. Later, we will appoint a consultant to prepare a detailed project report. It will take at least 12 to 16 months to get permissions from Mo-EF, and we expect a concrete shape to emerge some time during 2014 or 2015,” the VPT chairman said.