More floatels off Mumbai coast for dining and wining soon

Want to have dinner in the comfort of a boat anchored off Mumbai's coast? Despite last week's capsize of a floatel at Bandra, patrons may soon get a different dining experience with four more luxury off-shore restaurants launching operations in and around Mumbai.

Mumbai has three operational floatels at Bandra, of which one started tilting on May 25. "We have issued a letter of intent for a floatel at Belapur," said a senior official of the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB).

"Three floatels are proposed in south Mumbai, of which two are near Gateway of India and one near Marine Drive. These have received all major permissions from Indian Navy and Coast Guard, and we will be in a position to start them post-monsoon in October," noted Sanjay Bhatia, Chairman, Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT).

"What happened at Bandra was a freak mishap. Floatels are allowed to operate after verifying the registration of these vessels with the MMB (Inland Vessels Act, 1917) or the Director General of Shipping (Merchant Shipping Act, 1958) and checking the safety parameters and insurance," the MMB official added.

"The floatels we will get are going to be very huge and they're quite safe. We are also going to have pontoon-like structure to go till the floatel, and currently the operators are getting permissions for them," said Bhatia.

Out of the total MbPT had imported two new floatels from Turkey earlier this year, which were being refurbished at Indira Docks but the plan of making them operational will be delayed as operations will start post-monsoon considering the rough seas during the monsoon.

ON THE ANVIL

While the MMB had invited EOIs for the development, operation and maintainence of floatels along the coastline, the MbPT is promoting facilities like construction of international cruise terminal and floatels 
for revenue generation.