One ship finally set to sail for St Martin’s with 700 tourists

A tourist ship will finally sail from Cox’s Bazar to St Martin’s Island on Thursday, carrying 700 passengers and opening the season’s sea route after hours of uncertainty.

MV Bar Auliya will make the first voyage of the tourist season, Sea Cruise Operators Owners Association of Bangladesh General Secretary Hossain Islam Bahadur told bdnews24.com after a meeting with the district administration at 9:30pm on Wednesday.

“MV Bar Auliya will go to St Martin’s on Thursday morning. One ship will sail. Since there are 700 people, we will send one,” he said.

Cox’s Bazar District Administrator A Mannan confirmed the approval.

“Yes, they are selling some tickets. One ship will go. We have approved it,” he said.

Earlier, at 8pm, Assistant Commissioner and Executive Magistrate Mahmudur Rahman Sayem, in charge of the district administration’s tourism wing, had said no ship would leave on Thursday.

He had also announced a meeting for the following day to decide on sailings.

Bahadur, too, had initially said no final decision had been made before confirming the departure later that night.

The Department of Shipping has issued temporary voyage licences for three vessels on the route: MV Karnaphuli Express, MV Bar Auliya and MV Teknaf.

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority approved their route permits and schedules on Nov 4. Together, they can carry 2,298 passengers.

MV Bar Auliya is scheduled to leave Nuniachhara Ghat at 7:30am and return from the island at 2:30pm.

The tourist season runs from Nov 1 to Mar 15, with a daily cap of 3,500 visitors. Travellers must obtain QR-coded digital passes, while overnight stays are permitted only in December and January.