Tourist ship operation resumes on Cox's Bazar-St. Martin route

Tourist ships on the Cox's Bazar-St. Martin route resumed operations on Sunday, December 1, after the ship-owning authorities had temporarily suspended services to St. Martin due to a shortage of passengers.

A ship named "Baro Aulia" departed from BIWT Ghat in Nuniachara, Cox's Bazar for St. Martin at around 10:00am today, carrying 653 passengers.

Hossain Islam Bahadur, general secretary of the Sea Cruise Operator Owners Association of Bangladesh, confirmed this.

He said, "Ship operations on the Cox's Bazar-St. Martin route resumed after a nine-month closure. On the first day, the "Baro Aulia" set sail with 653 passengers, bringing relief to tourists and smiles to those in the tourism industry."

Earlier, tourist ship operations on this route were initially scheduled to resume on Thursday, November 28, but the ship-owning authorities postponed the restart due to a shortage of passengers.

Nilufa Yasmin Chowdhury, convener of the Tourism Control Committee in St. Martin and Cox's Bazar Sadar Upazila Executive Officer (UNO), said, "A ship from Cox's Bazar left for St. Martin today, marking the first day of service."

"Everything is in extensive inspection," she added.

The government permits ships to operate on the Teknaf-St. Martin and Cox's Bazar-St. Martin routes from October to March each year, with services suspended during the rough sea conditions from April to September.

However, due to navigability issues in the Naf River caused by rising submarines and security concerns from shelling on the Myanmar border, ships are temporarily not allowed to sail from Teknaf. Currently, only ships from Cox's Bazar city are operating.