More than 20 years after ferry services between India and Sri Lanka were discontinued, a passenger ship Scotia Prince' sailed from Tuticorin port to Colombo on Monday afternoon. Union shipping minister G K Vasan flagged off the vessel, 105 years after the first swadeshi ship S S Gaelia sailed this route.
Passenger ferry services were operated between Rameswaram and Mannar in Sri Lanka till 1983, when they were discontinued due to the ethnic violence there. Last year, the government decided to launch a passenger ferry service with a luxury liner as an alternative mode of travel between the two nations. Customs and immigration terminals were set up in Tuticorin V O C Port this January.
The move is also likely to boost trade relations between India and Sri Lanka. But on Monday, most of the 221 passengers on board were Port Trust employees as the launch function was arranged in a bit of a hurry.
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