PUDUCHERRY: As Puducherry prepares to receive its first luxury cruise ship, MV Empress, operated by Cordelia Cruises, on June 10, controversy surrounds it. The Puducherry government is yet to grant permission for it to dock on its coast.
“The Puducherry government has not yet granted permission to the cruise ship. No file has come to me in this regard,” said Puducherry Lt Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan while interacting with journalists on Monday.
However, sources said Cordelia Cruises had approached Puducherry port authorities sometime in May for necessary approvals, but it is yet to be granted. “Their application is under process,” a senior official at the port told TNIE.
Port clearance is mandatory for the boats of the cruise liner to enter Puducherry Port area to alight passengers. “The cruise liner will be anchored in the sea off Puducherry coast and boats will take the people to Port,” Commander Nevil Malao, VP Head of Cruise Cell, JM Baxi & Co, said. JM Baxi & Co are the agents for the ship.
The ship, which was flagged off from Chennai to Visakhapatanam on June 6, is scheduled to set sail to Puducherry from Visakhapatnam at 8 pm on June 8 and reach at 7 am June 10. A top government official from the TN tourism department said Puducherry Port does not have a dock and so the ship has to anchor in the sea and transport passengers in small boats to the shore. Tourism Minister K Lakshminarayanan is happy about the cruise liner coming to Puducherry as it will boost tourism and earn revenue for the government. He said the issue will be sorted out soon and they will provide all facilities for the ship.
But sources said the government is concerned because the Cordelia cruise was in the news after 14 people were booked and eight on board were arrested by NCB in a drug raid case in October 2021, in Mumbai. The Puducherry government is, therefore, taking action to ensure that there is no movement of drugs nor the ship is attracting people to casinos on board. The government wants an undertaking to be given by the operator in this regard, highly placed sources said.
Deny permission for casino: AIADMK
AIADMK Secretary (East) A Anbazhagan asked the government to permit the cruise liner only if it does not have a casino. He said the Mercantile Marine Department did not seek the Puducherry government’s permission to anchor the ship within 15 nautical miles from the UT’s coast and that Puducherry Transport Minister Chandira Priyanga should clarify this issue. AIADMK (West) secretary Om Sakthi Sekhar echoed the same.