The Hindu Business Line : m.v. Astoria calls at New Mangalore port

The ship has 290 passengers on board. Of them, 209 members visited various places in and around Mangalore, including St Aloysius Chapel, Gokarnatheswhara and Kadri temples and Achal Cashew Industries in Mangalore, and the temple town of Udupi.

Sources in New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) told Business Line that the ship anchored at the port at 7 a.m. Ninety-nine per cent of the passengers were Germans, they said. Most of the passengers were in the age group of 55 to 90 years.

The ship, which came from Goa, sailed to Kochi. The passengers celebrated Christmas on board at Goa, sources said.

It is the second ship to call at New Mangalore Port during the year. On April 7, the cruise ship m.v. Columbus called at the port. Nearly 200 European passengers visited Moodbidri and Karkala areas in coastal Karnataka then.

Though a considerable number of ships call at Goa and Kochi every year, only a few visit New Mangalore. It is because of the initiatives taken by the NMPT, that some of the passenger vessels have started calling at the port. During 2004-05, eight cruise vessels called at New Mangalore Port.

Another passenger vessel, m.v. Vista Mah, will call at New Mangalore Port on January 21.