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Published : 01 Dec 2025, 06:16 PM
After long delays, ship services from Cox’s Bazar to St Martin’s Island have resumed.
Karnaphuli Express, MB Bar Aulia and Keari Sindabad departed from the BIWTA jetty at Nuniachhara with 1,174 tourists on board at 7:15am on Monday.
District administration officials, the Department of Environment and Tourist Police supervised strict screening before allowing passengers to embark, in line with government directives.
Hossain Islam Bahadur, general secretary of the Sea Cruise Operator Owners Association of Bangladesh, said business owners and locals had suffered during the prolonged closure.
Operations will now run for two months, he added, noting that a few more days of permission for overnight stays would have helped offset losses.
QR CODE VERIFICATION
Upon inspecting the situation at the morning voyage’s start, Deputy Commissioner Abdul Mannan said: "Overnight stays are permitted on St Martin's Island for December and January. Tickets and travel passes must be obtained online.
“QR codes are being scanned at the dock to ensure that no more than the prescribed number of people enter."
He said, "A campaign is under way to ban plastics for environmental protection, and tourists are being provided with eco-friendly aluminium bottles. Volunteers and security personnel have been deployed in Cox's Bazar and St Martin's to implement the directives."
Tourist Police Additional DIG Apel Mahmud said, "Tourist police are deployed at the dock, on every ship, and on the island to ensure passenger safety and compliance with the regulations."
KEARI SINDABAD FINED
A mobile court fined the vessel “Keari Sindbad” Tk 50,000 after finding evidence during verification at the dock that it sold three tickets without QR codes.
Three passengers were sold tickets without a travel pass for Tk 1,800 each, Cox's Bazar Sadar Upazila administrator (UNO) Nilufa Yasmin Chowdhury said.
She added, "No one can sell tickets without a QR code. Locals can purchase tickets by showing their National ID, but a travel pass is mandatory for others.
“Since this is the first day, they were not arrested, but a written pledge was taken. Strict action will be taken if there is a repetition."
TOURISTS EXCITEMENT
The tourists were excited on the first day of the voyage.
Mokammel Hossain, visiting the island for the first time, said: "I had been waiting for a long time. It feels great to be able to go finally."
Absar Uddin, a tourist from Dhaka, believes that regulation is crucial for protecting the island.
He said, “A two-month period is too short; it could have been extended.”
STRICT DIRECTIVES
Zamir Uddin, director of the Department of Environment's Cox's Bazar office, said that due to strict surveillance, no more than 2,000 tourists will be allowed to visit daily. There are also search arrangements at the Nuniyachhara and Saint Martin's jetty docks.
On Oct 22, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued 12 directives to control travel to the coral island.
These include: no watercraft will operate without approval; online ticketing is mandatory; tickets without a QR code will be considered fake; overnight stays are banned in November but permitted in December and January; activities that harm biodiversity are strictly prohibited; motorised vehicle movement is shut down; polythene and single-use plastics are barred; and tourist entry to Saint Martin's Island will be completely closed again for nine months starting on Feb 1 of the following year.
4 MORE SHIPS READY
The Sea Cruise Operator Owners Association of Bangladesh said four more ships are ready for operation. If the administration grants permission, they will gradually be introduced to the route.
Ship operations will continue from the Nuniyachhara dock until Jan 31 of the current season.
