Pondicherry: The Puducherry Government has not yet given permission for the luxury cruise liner MV Empress, operated by Cordelia Cruises, to dock at its port on June 10 over the controversy surrounding it.

It may be recollected that in October 2021, the Cordelia cruise was in the news after 14 people were booked and eight on board were arrested by NCB in a drug raid case in Mumbai.

As per reports in TNIE, the Puducherry government had not yet granted permission to the cruise ship. No file has come to me in this regard,” said Puducherry Lt Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan while interacting with journalists. Port clearance is mandatory for the boats of the cruise liner to enter the Puducherry Port area to alight passengers.

The luxury ship was flagged off from Chennai to Visakhapatnam on June 6 and was scheduled to set sail to Puducherry from Visakhapatnam on June 8 and reach on June 10. But as Puducherry Port does not have a dock and the ship has to anchor in the sea and transport passengers in small boats to the shore. The luxury ship was halted since 4 am. Cordelia Operators are said to be in further docks with the Central and State Governments. If the Puducherry government does not give permission the ship will have to dock at Cuddalore Port on the East Coast of Tamil Nadu.

Also Read: Travel From Visakhapatnam to Chennai in Cordelia Cruise Ship, Check Rates and Facilities