Two premium vessels out of action this tourist season in Kochi

During the ongoing tourist season, cruise-tourism lovers and visitors to Kochi may miss out on two premium vessels - Nefertiti, the sea-going cruise ship owned by the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC), and Vega-1, the partly AC ferry that the State Water Transport Department (SWTD) operates in the Ernakulam-Fort Kochi corridor.

During the ongoing tourist season, cruise-tourism lovers and visitors to Kochi may miss out on two premium vessels - Nefertiti, the sea-going cruise ship owned by the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC), and Vega-1, the partly AC ferry that the State Water Transport Department (SWTD) operates in the Ernakulam-Fort Kochi corridor.

Nefertiti, that had been sent for dry-docking to Goa in September, was awaiting the final round of survey by the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), while fast ferry Vega-1 ought to be inspected by officials of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) after it was dry-docked at a boatyard in Alappuzha, said official sources. Both vessels had sound patronage, thanks to the comfort levels they offered.

Egyptian-themed vessel Nefertiti sailed to Goa, where it was manufactured, for the mandatory special survey dry-docking, on completing five years of service since its commissioning. Personnel of the two agencies must conclude their final survey, before the vessel can be brought back to Kochi. The MMD too has a stake in the survey, since the vessel that can operate up to 20 nautical miles (approximately 36 km) into the sea is bound by merchant shipping rules. It will return to Kochi later this month, once the survey is over. A few foreign components are awaited for the vessel. The dry-docking was expected to cost approximately ₹2.7 crore, said informed sources.

The cruise vessel, the first of its kind in Kerala, is a key revenue earner for the KSINC. “Its absence during the ongoing peak tourist season would make a dent in the agency’s earnings. Her smaller sister vessels are Sagara Rani I and II, Cleopatra, Michelle and solar-powered Sooryamshu. Among them, Sagara Rani I and II operate a few nautical miles into the sea.

The absence of the SWTD’s fast ferry Vega-1 has impacted the agency’s revenue collection, while commuters and tourists who yearned to travel fast in air-conditioned comfort in the high-in-demand Ernakulam-Fort Kochi corridor now rely on regular non-AC ferries. “Its final inspection by IRS personnel from Mumbai is expected the coming week,” said SWTD Director Shaji V. Nair.

Its sister vessel Vega-2 that ferries tourists through the Alappuzha backwaters too is much sought after. They were built at the same yard in Alappuzha where the SWTD’s award-winning solar ferry Aditya was manufactured.