MV MAA

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Conversion into restaurant still waiting to take place

More than three years have passed since the 'M.V. Maa' ran aground at the beach Tenneti Park, in Visakhapatnam, on October 13, 2020, due to adverse weather conditions under the influence of a depression in the Bay of Bengal. Due to high salvage costs, the ship owners did not take it back, and the vessel was left on the city’s beach. The ship’s fuel was emptied and it has been left to rust and decay. As there was no objection from the ship owners, the State government announced that it would be converted into a restaurant as part of efforts to develop the city as a tourism hub. In the first week of December 2021, the then Tourism Minister Muthamsetty Srinivasa Rao said that the works on the restaurant had started and tourists would be allowed after three weeks. After the announcement, the tourist excitement continued, but only for a few months. After Mr. Srinivasa Rao’s tenure ended, his succesor R.K. Roja directed the officials to take up the project works forward. A Vizag-based company, Gill Marines, is believed to have bought the ship for ₹1.25 crore from the insurer PNI Club (North of England). To make the project possible, the tourism department had to facilitate a road and other clearances from its end. The Tourism Department had sought clearances from Forest and CRZ authorities to take the project forward, but it had so far received clearance only from the Forest Department and is awaiting clearance from the CRZ officials. Apart from this, the tenure of the new AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) board also ended recently, and a new body that would be formed in the next few weeks is likely to discuss the project. The Tourism Department approached the Forest Department for using forest land to build a road from the beach road to the ship. It also submitted a Differential Global Positioning System survey for permission to construct a road from Jodugullapalem to the ship basement area. Officials have given permission to use 0.55 hectares of forest land for road purposes of the tourism project.They inspected the place in June 2023 and sent a report to their superiors in Vijayawada. According to the forest rules, if less than one hectare of forest land is used, there is no land to compensate for the land, but the tourism department has to pay the `Net Present Value’ to the forest department. Report with photo: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/andhra-pradesh-will-the-tide-turn-for-the-ship-that-ran-aground-in-vizag/article67469917.ece

Conversion plans gain momentum

Works to convert the 'Maa' that ran aground at Tenneti Park Beach, into a restaurant has been gaining momentum as the DGPS survey of Jodugullapalem and the vessel was completed. Gill Marines had come forward to develop the ship as a restaurant through an SPV exclusively created for the purpose. The plan to lay a pathway from Jodugullapalem to Tenneti Park Beach had hit a roadblock as a forest clearance was required. For the forest clearance, a DGPS survey was necessary and also equivalent land had to be alienated for the forest department. He added district Collector A Mallikharjuna on Apil 30, 2022, issued orders for advance possession of 1.5 acres in Sontyam. DGPS survey of the 1.5 acres alienated for the forest department will also be done to get a clearance. The Vizag-based SV Enviro has been hired for getting environment clearances and was conducting DGPS surveys. For CRZ clearance, a remote sensing map is being prepared by the National Institute of Oceanography. Later, the remote sensing map will be sent to the NIO office in Pune. Forest clearance and remote sensing maps are expected within a week, while the CRZ clearance will be given within two months.

Conversion of grounded ship a challenge

Converting the MV 'Maa' near Tenneti Park into a tourist spot will prove to be an uphill task for the State government. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shore and Ship Resorts Private Limited to convert the ship into a tourist spot with a restaurant on board via the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) route. The first challenge is to ensure that the ship remains in the same position in which it has run aground. Another challenge is to maintain the integrity of the ship’s structure and not compromise on Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms. After the Gill Marines took over the ship, and its subsidiary Shore and Ship Resorts signed an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) to convert it into a restaurant. The hull now sits on a bed of rocks and had a tilt of 7 to 9 degrees to starboard side. The initial challenge was level the tilt and set the angle right as far as possible, so that the ship is positioned parallel to the beach, as it would be difficult for the tourists to board the ship at a critical angle. Taking advantage of the high tides under the impact of Cyclone Jawad, contractors used a couple of crawler-mounted heavy earthmovers to correct the tilt, as well as set the angle right, taking advantage of the buoyancy. The most important thing is to keep the ship in its current position. Even though it sits on a bed of rocks, the buoyancy factor during high tides can dislodge the ship and change its angle and tilt. It is tethered with mooring ropes and chains to plates anchored and secured to the bedrocks. The plates are fixed with 30 mm bolts that are secured to a depth of about one meter inside the rocks and can withstand the stress and tension. Work was on to create an artificial breakwater on the starboard side to reduce the impact of the waves and current. A sand bank will be created in the future to reduce the impact of waves lashing the hull. The plan is to convert both the cargo hatches into a restaurant. While the iron cover of one hatch will give way to a see-through glass ceiling, the other hatch will have seating arrangements on the deck too. We intend to have a seating capacity of 200, both on deck and below the deck combined. The bow and the stern areas will be used as restaurant space. The architecture plan provides parking space for 30 cars on the beachfront, a pathway leading to the ship, a private area which would comprise of a beach cafe and coconut grove with umbrellas and a public place with shacks and adventure sports. There are plans to have a swimming pool with the beachfront cafe or restaurant and an artificial waterfall. All structures will be temporary and eco-friendly, as per the CRZ norms, including the pathway The project is expected to be ready in a year’s time if things go according to plan.