Visakhapatnam: The luxury Cordelia cruise liner MV Empress made its way to Visakhapatnam International Cruise Terminal on July 2 (Wednesday).

Marking a significant milestone in the city’s advent as a premier destination for cruise tourism, Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA), in collaboration with the district administration, organised a grand flag-off ceremony for the vessel’s onward voyage.

Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) Sarbananda Sonowal virtually flagged off the cruise ship and conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision that Visakhapatnam would play a key role in boosting tourism and economic growth in the maritime sector.

Participating in a virtual mode, Minister of State for MoPSW Shantanu Thakur reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment towards promoting cruise tourism across Indian ports. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu extended his best wishes on the occasion through a digital conference and assured complete support for the development of cruise tourism in the State.

Minister for Tourism Kandula Durgesh emphasised the AP government’s proactive approach in developing tourist circuits and hubs. He mentioned that many more cruise liners will be introduced in Visakhapatnam in future.

Special Chief Secretary (Tourism and Culture) Ajay Jain expressed hope for increased cruise traffic to Visakhapatnam Port and assured complete cooperation from the State government under the visionary leadership of Naidu.

Reiterating the Prime Minister’s vision of promoting cruise tourism at all major ports, chairperson of VPA M Angamuthu shared the Chief Minister’s idea of developing maritime hubs for every 50-km stretch, such as ship building, Maritime Skill Development and coastal or cruise tourism. He announced that the VPA would sponsor 5,000 students annually in cruise-led skill development programmes, thereby generating employment and contributing to the socio-economic upliftment of coastal regions.

The chairperson shared 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.

As part of the celebrations, boarding passes were symbolically handed over to the families for their journey aboard the MV Empress in the presence of

Collector MN Harendhira Prasad, Visakhapatnam MP M Sribharath, MLA Ch Vamsi Krishna Srinivas and others were present.