Cox’s Bazar Correspondent: The month of Ramadan will start in Bangladesh on Tuesday, when the moon is sighted. The authorities have announced the suspension of ship traffic on the St. Martin route due to the fear that tourists may fall during Ramadan. From Monday (March 11), the movement of tourist ships in Cox’s Bazar-Saint Martin is closed.
MV Baro Auliya is plying on the St. Martin route from the Inani Navy Jetty in Cox’s Bazar. Its director, Mahabub Hossain, said, ‘Due to the ongoing conflict in the villages near the Bangladesh border inside Myanmar, the administration had stopped the movement of tourist ships on the Teknaf-Saint Martin route. Still, two tourist ships named Karnaphuli and MV Baro Auliya were plying from Inani Jetty with tourists in mind. The number of tourists will decrease during the month of Ramadan. It happens every year. So the authorities have decided to stop shipping to avoid losses. He said, according to the decision of the ship owners, these two tourist ships will not leave for Saint Martin Island on Monday.
Admin of Karnaphuli Cruise Line. Nurul Alam said, considering the jetty installation work in Inani and the weather of the April and Baisakhi storms, the closure of tourist ships has been announced in St. Martin. MV Baraulia and Karnaphuli Express will be closed during Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr. Basically, shipping has been stopped for the current season. Hopefully, starting with the next tourist season in September, all the tourist ships will again sail from Cox’s Bazar to Saint Martin.
Deputy Commissioner of Cox’s Bazar, Muhammad Shaheen Imran, said, “shipping on the Cox’s Bazar-Saint Martin route has been stopped since Monday.” Basically, in the current season, ships operate on the Cox’s Bazar-Saint Martin route until March 31. But since Ramadan is starting, shipping authorities have announced the closure of ships on the Cox’s Bazar-Saint Martin route.
