Cruise liners shy away from Mumbai's coast

CRUISE WOES: There will not be any cruises around this new year.

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Mumbai: The people in Mumbai may not be able to party in the middle of the ocean, on board a cruise, as there will not be any cruises around this new year.

To groove aboard a cruise this year end, one will have to shell out more on a visa, international travel as well as spend foreign exchange as regulations have simply made it unviable for the cruises to operate off the Indian coast.

"Earlier, Indian territorial limits meant 12 nautical miles, however, the new regulations mean it's now 200 nautical miles,” says Naresh Rawal, Director marketing, Star cruises.

“It is an attempt to bring all these services under the tax structure bracket but it's now driving away the budding cruise travel trend in India,” says Sunil Gupta, COO, SOTC.

Earlier, any ship having crossed the 12 nautical mile mark could open up food and beverage as well as casinos in addition to all the services staying off the Indian tax radar. However, the latest directive means any services to a passenger picked from Indian shores and dropped at an Indian destination comes under the taxable bracket something that could also affect international cruise ships that allowed passengers from India, a stopover option.

"A foreign ship doing a round trip can stay clear only if it does not pick up any passengers from India. There are so many around the world cruises that pass by, but it will affect Indian prospects greatly,” says Sunil Gupta.

While the decision is awaited on the issue, many are keeping a close watch, especially the Mumbai port Trust, considering their plans to develop a multi-billion Cruise Terminal in Mumbai.

For some, this would only mean an additional twenty thousand airfare to an alternate cruise port such as Singapore, Bangkok or Hong Kong.