Cordellia to operate cruise liner from Vizag to Chennai from Aug 26
It will have six voyages till September 14. The rates are yet to be finalised
Visakhapatnam: Cordellia Cruises has finalised the schedule of its voyages from Vizag International Cruise Terminal (VICT) from August 26.
The cruise will be available between Visakhapatnam, Chennai and Puducherry. It will have six voyages till September 14. The rates are yet to be finalised, according to K. Vijay Mohan, president, Travel and Tour Association of Andhra (TTAA).
Welcoming the decision, Vijay Mohan said more cruise liners are in the pipeline from Visakhapatnam to transform VICT as a cruise gateway. The launching of cruise voyages from the City of Destiny is expected to dawn of a new chapter in cruise tourism in India.
Domestic sailings by an international cruise liner Costa Cruises, Italy, a part of Carnival Corporation was launched from Mumbai in November last year by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal.
Cordellia Cruises has operated, albeit temporarily, voyages from Visakhapatnam to Chennai and Pondicherry during 2021-22 following cancellation of Goa-Colombo services due to strife in Sri Lanka. During 15 voyages, 8,645 passengers had embarked and 13,814 disembarked at VPA.
Littoral Cruises Ltd promoted by Littoral Communications Chairman Raja Vaiz has already signed MoU with VOC Port Authority (erstwhile Tuticorin Port) to introduce a cruise liner between Chennai and Singapore enroute Visakhapatnam. When contacted, he told that they are likely to launch two ships from India in April- one each from West and East Coasts. "We are in touch with Visakhapatnam Port officials as the city is very important for us to tap huge potential in cruise tourism industry," Vaiz said.
VPA Chairman M Angamuthu recently started that they are holding talks with several cruise operators to avail of world-class facilities developed at cruise terminal here at a cost of Rs.103 crore with funds allotted under Sagarmala programme.
Visakhapatnam terminal can handle ships carrying 2000 to 2500 passengers. The terminal has a 180 metre berth. Ships with an overall length (LOA) of 300 metres and 1.5 lakh gross registered tonnage (GRT) can be anchored at the terminal.
