Ship departs for Saint Martin with 615 passengers

After a nine-month break, a tourist ship departed for Saint Martin’s Island on the Cox’s Bazar-Saint Martin route, carrying 615 passengers to the island.

The ship named “MV Bar Aulia” departed from the BIWTA terminal in Cox’s Bazar town’s Nuniarchhara around 10 am on Sunday (December 1). The ship is expected to arrive at the island around 3:30 pm.

The resumption of ship operations on the Cox’s Bazar-Saint Martin route brought relief to tourism businesses.

However, for the first time, visitors must complete a government-mandated registration process to travel to Saint Martin’s Island.

Ship services from Teknaf remain suspended due to silt formation in the Naf River and security concerns from recent border clashes in Myanmar. Currently, only Cox’s Bazar is approved as a departure point.

The government permits ship operations on the Teknaf-Saint Martin and Cox’s Bazar-Saint Martin routes from October to March each year, suspending them during the monsoon season due to rough seas.

This year, the government has introduced a cap on tourist numbers in a bid to protect the island’s environment. Travelers must now register through an app provided by the Ministry of Tourism before visiting Saint Martin’s Island.