VASCO
Domestic cruise ship MV Cordelia Empress arrived at the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) on Sunday becoming the first ship to mark the commencement of the cruise tourism season in the State.
The ship that arrived from Mumbai brought around 1500 passengers and 600 crew members on its maiden visit and left for Mumbai in the evening.
MV Cordelia Empress is the first commercial cruise vessel to be handled by MPT after a long pandemic break.
MPT Dy Chairman GP Rai, Dy Conservator Capt Manoj Joshi, Senior Dy Traffic Manager Jerome Clement along with other officials of the JM Baxi Shipping Agency that will handle the ship were present to welcome the ship at the cruise berth.
A plaque was also exchanged between MPT and the Captain of the domestic ship.
While a lot of taxi operators were seen outside the cruise berth gate, some bus operators were also seen stationed.
MPT Dy Chairman said that it was a great start to the season as the ship got in 1500 passengers and around 600 crew members on its first visit.
"After Covid pandemic, the cruise industry was badly affected but we hope that many more ships arrive and we will ensure that complete protocol and SOPs is maintained”, he said.
“Though MPT is a cargo based port and the cruise business may not be very lucrative, but we want to promote cruise tourism to benefit the State government", Rai said.
Senior manager at J M Baxi Shipping Services Govind Pernulkar said the company had last serviced the cruise ship in March 2020.
"There was no business anywhere and with the efforts of the State and central government, this domestic cruise line has started operations. The ship will make 58 calls to Goa which will also benefit MPT and state tourism sector”, he said.
As per market trend, we feel that the number of passengers will increase further as SOPs are further relaxed. The first call is basically a promotional call, he said.
“There will be a huge event and musical show on the vessel on October 1 after which the ship operations will be fully geared up”, Pernulkar said.
Capt Sushil Mathur, General Manager of J M Baxi shipping agency said it was a big day for the company to bring in the first cruise ship of the season.
"The government has put a lot of protocols in place and MPT too has followed a lot of protocols. There are a lot of checks in place for passengers as well including the checking of RTPCR certificates”.
“It’s a good sign for Goa as more tourists arrive as this will also give an idea to people that Goa is a safe destination with all checks in place as laid by Government”, he said.
