Speaking on the occasion, Mr Vasan stated that the event was a historic one for Indian Shipping, particularly for VOC Port and Tamilnadu, since it marked the revival after so many decades of the service started by V.O.C in 1907. He stated that this was a fulfilment of a long pending public demand and this would benefit people of both the countries, particularly the Tamil population besides giving boost to cultural ties, tourism and trade. This service will help in transforming VOC Port and Thoothukudi into a hub for passenger Ferry services and Cruise Shipping. He said that the government is also working on resuming the Rameshwaram-Talaimanar Ferry service which was discontinued in the 1980s.

The Union Minister for Shipping, G K Vasan looking the model of M V Amet Majesty at Chennai Port.

On the occasion, the Minister said that Cruise Shipping is one of the fastest growing segments in the leisure industry worldwide. The government is gearing up to increase the footfalls into India further in the coming years besides promotion of Indian flag cruises, including river cruises. The focus will be to showcase India as an attractive tourist destination for cruise tourists with its vast and beautiful coastline, virgin forests and undisturbed idyllic islands, rich historical and cultural heritage. The government also plans to ensure that the cruise shipping industry in India becomes internationally competitive and contribute to the economy in terms of generation of foreign exchange, income, employment and business opportunities.

The Cruise Shipping policy is already in place which permit 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Shipping Sector including Cruise Shipping. Besides, foreign flag Cruise ships/vessels have also been permitted to make coastal voyages between different ports of India in relaxation of the provisions of Section 407(1) of MS Act.

Speaking on the training of seafarers, the Minister said that Indian seafarers are one of the most qualified lot in the world with a share of 6.3% for officers and 7.5 % for ratings in the world. To address the shortage of trained manpower problem in the industry, the ministry has initiated several measures to not only increase the numbers of trained manpower but also to improve the quality of training. In its Maritime Agenda- 2020, India aims to increase this share to 9% by 2015, entailing expanding annual training capacity from 5,600 to 15,000 officers and from 4,600 ratings to 9,000 ratings. He said that setting up the Indian Maritime University in 2008 is a step in this direction and that further steps will be taken to increase the share of Indian seafarers as envisaged in the Maritime Agenda.