John Wilbert & Saurabh Singh
Port Blair, Jul 26: The new passenger ship, MV Nalanda reached Port Blair this morning and according to officials of DSS, the ship will be ready to sail in around one week.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha daily, a senior officer of DSS said that the ship has reached Port Blair today and is now anchored near Ross Islands. He said that crew members are also ready to execute their duties. On 22nd July 2022 the ship sailed for A&N Islands from Cochin with safe mining crews. There are tasks which need to be completed like the canteen set up and computerized ticketing systems before pressing the vessel into service.
“It will take around one week to clear all the remaining works and after that, the ship will be ready to sail and then the Administration will Induct the ship,” the senior officer added. About sailing, he said that once the schedule is fixed it will be communicated to the public.
“The ship will probably be operated for the Southern Group of Islands,” he added.
As per details, this vessel which can cruise at 16 knots is built to the highest standards of the Indian Register of Shipping and American Bureau of Shipping meets the Indian Merchant Shipping rules and is customized for Indian requirements with a very high level of safety and comfort comparable to the international standards.
As per details, the Vessel ‘MV Nalanda’ has a length of 99.87 mtrs, a breadth of 17.50 mtrs and a draft of 4.5 mtrs. The ship can attain a cruising speed of 16 knots per hour. It has 12 deluxe cabins, 32 first-class cabins, 36 second-class cabins, 74 seats and 346 Bunk classes. Like MV Sindhu, this ship was also designed by Knud E Hansen Ship Builders, Copenhagen, a renowned 80 years old Ship Construction Company.
