Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) Sarbananda Sonowal virtually flagged off the luxury cruise ship M.V. Empress, operated by Cordelia Cruises, for Chennai after it had docked at the Visakhapatnam International Cruise Terminal. In addition to offering his best wishes, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu pledged his full support for the State’s cruise tourist industry.
Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State for MoPSW, reiterated the Indian government’s dedication to expanding cruise tourism in all Indian ports. Participating in the program, Minister of Tourism Kandula Durgesh emphasized the State government’s proactive approach to building tourism hubs and circuits, with the goal of adding additional cruise ships.
Secretary, MoPSW T.K. Ramachandran described the flag-off of M.V. Empress as a historic milestone for Andhra Pradesh’s cruise tourism journey and highlighted its potential to boost the local economy, in line with the Maritime India Vision. Special Chief Secretary, Tourism & Culture, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Ajay Jain, assured full cooperation on behalf of the government to cruise tourism.
Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) Chairperson M. Angamuthu said that the VPA would sponsor 5,000 students annually in cruise-led skill development programmes, generating employment and contributing to the socio-economic upliftment of coastal regions. He revealed 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.
