Sri Vijaya Puram, June 25: Travel plans for passengers bound for the Southern Group of Islands have been affected after the Directorate of Shipping Services cancelled the scheduled sailing of MV Nalanda between Sri Vijaya Puram and Campbell Bay due to ongoing repairs and pending statutory certification formalities.
The Directorate announced that MV Nalanda, which was scheduled to sail from Sri Vijaya Puram to Campbell Bay via Nancowry on June 30, 2026, remains under repair, annual survey procedures and certification processes. Authorities stated that the vessel’s statutory certificates are still awaited from the concerned statutory authority, making it impossible to operate the previously announced voyage.
To minimize inconvenience to passengers, particularly teachers and residents travelling to the Southern Group of Islands, the Directorate has arranged an alternative service using MV Campbell Bay.
According to the revised schedule, MV Campbell Bay will depart from Haddo Wharf for Campbell Bay via Nancowry on June 29, 2026, at 2100 hours. The vessel will undertake its return voyage from Campbell Bay on July 1, 2026, at 1000 hours via Nancowry to Sri Vijaya Puram.
The change in schedule affects passengers who had already secured confirmed bookings on MV Nalanda for the cancelled onward voyage on June 30 and the return voyage from Campbell Bay via Nancowry on July 2, 2026.
The Directorate has advised all affected passengers to cancel their existing tickets and obtain fresh tickets for the replacement service aboard MV Campbell Bay. The instruction applies to both offline and online bookings.
Officials stated that fresh tickets for the alternative voyage will be issued exclusively to passengers holding valid confirmed tickets for the cancelled MV Nalanda sailing. Ticket issuance commenced on June 25, 2026, from 0900 hours onwards.
Passengers travelling from Sri Vijaya Puram can obtain fresh tickets at the STARS Ticketing Counters located at Phoenix Bay. Similarly, passengers requiring return journey tickets may collect them from the STARS Ticketing Counters at Campbell Bay or Nancowry.
The revised arrangement has been made to ensure continuity of passenger movement between Sri Vijaya Puram and the Nicobar group despite the temporary unavailability of MV Nalanda. The Directorate has urged affected passengers to complete the ticket exchange process at the earliest to avoid travel-related difficulties.
