Liner promises boost to sea tourism
Saint Martin's island is on the verge of witnessing a new chapter in tourist transport as a vessel formerly engaged in ferrying people in Japan is because of pioneer a route connecting the coral isle to Chattogram via Cox's Bazar.
The 393-feet long, 55-feet wide MV One Bay was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 1992 according to websites on marine traffic and will be offering 2,000 cabin accommodations including presidential suites, bunk beds and twin bed cabins.
It's been taken on a 10-year lease from a Singapore-based company by Karnafuly Ship Builders, which plans to eventually make use of it for a diverse selection of sea tourism in Bangladesh, at the mercy of government clearance.
All plans will have to wait till December for repairs to be completed, said the business officials.
Coming to the Chattogram port on September 19, MV One Bay is now anchored at Chattogram Marine Fisheries Academy Jetty.
Once repairs were complete, permission will be sought from the federal government to commence operations, Abdur Rashid, managing director of the privately-owned shipbuilding company, told The Daily Star.
"For the very first time in Bangladesh, we've brought a cruise liner of international standard, which can only help the country's tourism sector enter a fresh era," he said.
It could cost ranging from Tk 200 crore and Tk 250 crore to build such a vessel from scratch but because the service was the first of its kind, the company decided running it on lease.
The business plans to outright choose the vessel if there is good response from tourists, he added.
Apart from Karnafuly Ship Builders, there are lots of local companies ferrying people to Saint Martin's island, but only from Cox's Bazar, from where one trip is run daily, and Teknaf, from where three trips are run a day.
With its 18-feet draft, MV One Bay comes with an average speed of 16.1 nautical miles per hour and a maximum speed of 24 nautical miles each hour.
It is registered with International Maritime Organization and with the capacity of deep sea travel even though cautionary signal 5 is in place for inclement weather, in line with the company's officials. Cautionary signal 4 usually calls a stop to vessel movement.
The ship previously bore the name MV Salvia Maru and ferried persons between Tokyo and Tokyo Islands.
