Mansukh Mandaviya launches cruise service from Surat to Diu

The Minister said 6 international cruise terminals are being planned on both the West coast and the East coast

Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday flagged off the cruise service from Hazira Port of Surat to Diu via video conferencing.

Addressing the event, the Minister said, “I feel very happy to announce that before 2014, there were 139 cruise calls at the Indian Ports but today we have 450 cruise calls in the country despite the Covid-19 pandemic. There has been a steady growth in the number of tourists traveling by Cruise Services since 2014. The number before 2014 was one lakh and the number of tourists in 2019-20 was 4.5 lakhs.”

"Under the Maritime Vision 2030, we are aiming for more than 350 cruise ships, 3,000 plus cruise calls per annum, more than 3 cruise training academies, and 5 million cruise passengers by 2030. We are taking all-round steps to create perfect ecosystem for the cruise industry,' the Minister said.

The Minister said 6 international cruise terminals are being planned on both the West coast (Mumbai, Goa, Kochi) and East coast (Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Chennai, the statement said.

One side voyage time of the cruise service is approximately 13 to 14 hours. The cruise has a capacity of 300 passengers and has 16 cabins. This cruise will sail two round trips in a week. The cruise has a gaming lounge, VIP lounge, entertainment on deck, and other modern amenities. One side journey will cost Rs.900+taxes(per head), the statement added.

In November 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘Hazira-Ghogha’ RoPAX service and within four months, One lakh passengers and thousands of vehicles utilised the ferry service to save journey time and the cost to travel from Hazira (Surat) to Ghogha (Bhavanagar).