Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya launches first-of-its-kind cruise service between Surat and Diu

The Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Mansukh Mandaviya on March 31, 2021, flagged off the first-of-its-kind cruise service from Hazira Port of Surat to Diu via video conferencing.

As per the statement by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, the Union Minister in his inaugural address stated that the development of cruise tourism is the prime focus of the Indian Government under the leadership of PM Modi.

Earlier in November 2020, PM Modi had inaugurated the ‘Hazira-Ghogha’ RoPAX Service to save journey time and the cost of travel.

Virtually flagged off Surat-Diu-Surat Cruise Service in Gujarat today

Commencement of this cruise service will :

🚢Make Surat as Water-Transportation hub

🚢Promote Cruise tourism

🚢Unfold new vistas for connectivity of Surat with the rest of Gujarat pic.twitter.com/PafIrCXETy

— Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) March 31, 2021

Cruise service between Surat and Diu:

•  For the cruise between Surat and Diu, the one side voyage time will be approximately 13 to 14 hours.

•  The new cruise has a capacity of 300 passengers and has 16 cabins and will sail two round trips in a week.

•  The cruise has a VIP lounge, gaming lounge, entertainment on deck as well as other modern amenities.

•  One side journey of the cruise ship will cost Rs. 900 + Taxes (per head).

Promoting cruise tourism industry in India:

While speaking during the event, the union minister announced that before 2014, there were 139 cruise calls at the Indian Ports but now there are 450 cruise calls in the country despite the pandemic.

He added that there has also been a growth in the number of tourists traveling by cruise services since 2014. The number of tourists before 2014 was one lakh and in 2019-20 was 4.5 lakhs.

Mansukh Mandaviya reiterated that the Indian coastline has the potential to promote the cruise tourism industry and 6 international cruise terminals have already been planned on the east coast (Kolkata, Vishakhapatnam, Chennai) and west coast (Goa, Mumbai, Kochi) of India.

The minister also expressed optimism for the development of RoRo, ferry, and ROPAX Services between the Saurashtra Region of Gujarat and South Gujarat and mentioned that it is a new future of transportation with ferry terminals and modern amenities in cruise services.

Hazira-Ghogha RoPAX Service:

PM Modi earlier inaugurated Hazira-Ghogha RoPAX Service and within four months of its inauguration, the ferry service was utilized by one lakh passengers and thousands of vehicles to save the cost of travel and journey time from Hazira (Surat) to Ghogha (Bhavanagar).