VISAKHAPATNAM: Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao has said Bangladesh cargo ship MV Maa, which drifted from its anchorage point and ran aground near Tenneti Park in Visakhapatnam in the second week of October, will be converted into a floating restaurant with a capacity to host 500 people at a time.
Addressing mediapersons here on Thursday, he said Gill Marines will modernise the ship in PPP mode, and the firm has been asked to develop the ship in four months. Tourists will be allowed to visit the ship from December 29. As salvage operations and restoration were not fruitful, owner of the vessel, Advance Shipping, Dhaka, decided to declare the ship as abandoned. PNI Club (North of England), the insurers of the vessel, took over the vessel and declared it as a wreck.
Gill Marines, which bought the vessel from the insurers, offered to sell it to the APTDC initially for Rs 4.50 crore. After several negotiations, the firm agreed to sell it for Rs 1.25 crore, after which the State Cabinet approved the proposal for the conversion of MV Maa Cargo into a floating restaurant.