MV MAA

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Grounded ship still waiting for conversion

The future of the'Maa', which grounded during a cyclonic storm on Oct 12, 2020, on the shore abutting Tenneti Park in Visakhapatnam, for which the previous YSRCP government proposed to utilise the ship for tourism purposes by developing it into a floating restaurant and which was approved to purchase and remodel the ship at an estimated cost of Rs 10.5 crore as a major tourist attraction, is still uncertain. The Gill Marines came forward to develop the ship as a resort through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) exclusively created for the purpose and sought for the support to provide infrastructure. Based on the request of Gill Marines, APTDC asked to submit a detailed proposal along with a DPR on the works to be handled by the SPV for the development of the 'Maa' in two phases Gill Marines commenced necessary repair and development works to the ship and proposed to develop the beachfront with a restaurant and landscaping. In order to facilitate APTDC to handle the ship project in collaboration with Gill Marines, a letter was sent to GVMC and VMRDA to handover Tenneti Park to the control of the APTDC for its development and future maintenance. With the formation of the new government, hopes to revoke the floating restaurant project got revoked. The AP Tourism was awaiting clearances from the forest Department along with other wings.

Grounded ship still waiting to be turned into a restaurant

The plan to promote tourism on the beachfront in Visakhapatnam by converting the 'Maa' into a floating restaurant still remained on hold. Though the State government had declared an allotment of Rs 10 crore for the project, it was yet to take some shape due to procedural wrangle in getting clearance from environmental point of view. The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) had also tied up with Shore & Ship Resorts Private Repair Ltd. to make necessary alterations within the vessel at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore. Green activists said that the continuation of the ship just close to Tenneti Park, a popular venue for the localities and tourists in the city, was an environmental risk. The State government explored various options to make the ship fit by redesigning to convert it into a restaurant as part of an effort to promote beach tourism. However, delay in getting clearances from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, clearance under the Coastal Regular Zone (CRZ) guidelines and other authorities turned the project jinxed. Report with photo: https://www.bizzbuzz.news/national/bid-to-convert-abandoned-bdesh-ship-into-floating-restaurant-turns-jinxed-1317293

Conversion into restaurant still waiting to take place

More than three years have passed since the 'M.V. Maa' ran aground at the beach Tenneti Park, in Visakhapatnam, on October 13, 2020, due to adverse weather conditions under the influence of a depression in the Bay of Bengal. Due to high salvage costs, the ship owners did not take it back, and the vessel was left on the city’s beach. The ship’s fuel was emptied and it has been left to rust and decay. As there was no objection from the ship owners, the State government announced that it would be converted into a restaurant as part of efforts to develop the city as a tourism hub. In the first week of December 2021, the then Tourism Minister Muthamsetty Srinivasa Rao said that the works on the restaurant had started and tourists would be allowed after three weeks. After the announcement, the tourist excitement continued, but only for a few months. After Mr. Srinivasa Rao’s tenure ended, his succesor R.K. Roja directed the officials to take up the project works forward. A Vizag-based company, Gill Marines, is believed to have bought the ship for ₹1.25 crore from the insurer PNI Club (North of England). To make the project possible, the tourism department had to facilitate a road and other clearances from its end. The Tourism Department had sought clearances from Forest and CRZ authorities to take the project forward, but it had so far received clearance only from the Forest Department and is awaiting clearance from the CRZ officials. Apart from this, the tenure of the new AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) board also ended recently, and a new body that would be formed in the next few weeks is likely to discuss the project. The Tourism Department approached the Forest Department for using forest land to build a road from the beach road to the ship. It also submitted a Differential Global Positioning System survey for permission to construct a road from Jodugullapalem to the ship basement area. Officials have given permission to use 0.55 hectares of forest land for road purposes of the tourism project.They inspected the place in June 2023 and sent a report to their superiors in Vijayawada. According to the forest rules, if less than one hectare of forest land is used, there is no land to compensate for the land, but the tourism department has to pay the `Net Present Value’ to the forest department. Report with photo: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/andhra-pradesh-will-the-tide-turn-for-the-ship-that-ran-aground-in-vizag/article67469917.ece