First cruise ship post-COVID calls at Colombo 

Norwegian ship Vikingmas carrying 700 tourists and 450 crew arrived at Colombo Port yesterday marking herself as the first cruise ship to call Sri Lanka post-COVID.

Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva and Tourism Minister Harin Fernando and others came to the passenger jetty of the port to welcome this ship.

The Ministry emphasised that the ship, which came from Goa, India, is anchored at the port of Colombo for 24 hours, and that a special program has been set up to provide them with the necessary customs, immigration and duty shopping complex facilities.

Built in 2022, the ship has a depth of 6.7 meters, a length of 229 m and a width of 32 m. The Norwegian-flagged ship arrived at Colombo port in Sri Lanka from Marmagao port in Goa, India.