Ships to Sail to Saint Martin in First Week of November, Questions Remain over Jetty Readiness

After a long wait, Bangladesh's only coral island Saint Martin is opening to tourists from the first week of November. Hotels, resorts and restaurants on the island are making last-minute preparations to welcome tourists.

Under a decision of an inter-ministerial meeting of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 25 October, tourists will be able to visit Saint Martin from 1 November to 15 March 2027. A maximum of 3,500 tourists a day will be allowed to go to the island, and each person will have to pay an environment conservation fee of Tk 100.

However, the authorities have said that because permission has not been received, ships will sail to Saint Martin from 5 or 6 November instead of 1 November.

Discussion is under way over the readiness of the Saint Martin jetty and Cox's Bazar's Nuniyarchhara jetty for tourist ships. The ship owners' organisation claims the Saint Martin jetty is fully ready. But the number of stairs for tourists to board and disembark at Nuniyarchhara jetty ghat is not sufficient.

Hossain Islam Bahadur, general secretary of the Sea Cruise Operator Owners Association of Bangladesh (SCOAB), the organisation of tourist ship owners on the Saint Martin route, said the Saint Martin jetty is fully ready, but the stair arrangement at Nuniyarchhara is not sufficient and one more stair is needed there.

Hossain Islam Bahadur said permission from the Department of Environment has been received. Subject to complying with BIWTA instructions and conditions, three tourist ships — MV Karnaphuli Express, MV Baro Aulia and MV Teknaf — have received permission to operate on the Cox's Bazar Nuniyarchhara-Saint Martin route. Permission for the remaining ships has not yet been received.

On the other hand, the port authority has said a small amount of work remains at Nuniyarchhara jetty ghat, which will be finished in one or two days. Nayan Sheel, acting deputy director of Cox's Bazar river port, said the ghat is almost ready, the small remaining work will be finished soon, and ships will then be able to operate subject to permission. The port side also noted in discussion that no application seeking permission for ship movement has yet been submitted.

With the news of the tourism season starting, renovation, cleaning and decoration work is under way at Saint Martin's hotels, resorts and restaurants. Traders who were under financial pressure because of long restrictions on tourist movement and limited overnight stays are hoping to recover in the new season. The island has more than 200 residential hotels, large and small.

Mohammad Tayab Ullah, owner of Saint Martin's Mermaid Resort, said long closure of tourism activities caused much loss to businesses and even running day-to-day life became difficult. He said he feels relief hearing that ships will operate from 1 November.

Alamgir Akash said Saint Martin's business lasts only two to three months a year. The income of that period has to cover the whole year. When tourism activities stop for reasons including bad weather, hardship increases for islanders. If everything goes well, he hopes to recover losses and make some profit this time.

Even as preparations to welcome tourists continue, local residents and traders are worried about the condition of the pontoon at the jetty where ships berth. They allege rust has created holes in places on the pontoon. If it is not repaired before ships start operating, there could be a risk of accidents while passengers board and disembark. Fayezul Islam, a resident of the island and acting chairman of Saint Martin Union Parishad, commented that repairing the jetty pontoon is urgent to ensure tourist safety.

Mohammad Saifuddin, assistant engineer of Cox's Bazar Zila Parishad, said jetty construction work costing about Tk 7 crore is under way and is due to be completed in December this year. Although some work remains, initiatives will be taken to finish the platform work before ships start operating so tourists do not suffer. He also said allegations of irregularities in the jetty construction will be investigated.

Meanwhile, tourism traders have submitted more than 300 applications this month to the upazila administration seeking permission to take workers. Upazila administration sources said permission is being given after verification of the applications. Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer SM Anik Chowdhury said decisions are being given after verifying traders' worker applications ahead of the tourism season and discussions have been held with traders to protect the island's environment. The administration also said it is necessary to remain careful so that coral, biodiversity and the natural environment are not damaged by tourist pressure.