Marella Discovery makes her maiden call to Colombo

Officials present from the Sri Lanka Port Authority, Aitken Spence Shipping and Aitken Spence Travels with the Master of the vessel at the plaque exchange ceremony

Super luxury passenger vessel M.V. Marella Discovery of Marella Cruises, with 1,732 passengers and 764 crew on board, made her maiden call at the Port of Colombo in December 2018.

In order to mark the maiden call of the vessel at the Port of Colombo, plaque exchanges were held between the Master of the vessel, SLPA, local agents Aitken Spence Shipping Ltd., and travel operator Aitken Spence Travels Ltd.

On behalf of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Managing Director Capt. Athula Hewavitharana exchanged plaques with the Master of Marella Discovery Capt. Christopher N. Dodds. Aitken Spence Shipping Managing Director Iqram Cuttilan and Aitken Spence Travels Managing Director Nalin Jayasundera also exchanged plaques with the Master on behalf of the Aitken Spence Group subsidiaries.

Expressing views at the occasion, SLPA Managing Director Capt. Athula Hewavitharana said that the Port of Colombo was honoured by the presence of Marella Discovery in Colombo.

Marella Cruises (formerly Thomson Cruises) is a British cruise line offering cruise holidays around Europe, the Caribbean and Asia. Marella Discovery is approximately 264 meters in length and 32 meters wide, having 902 state rooms with a capacity to accommodate up to 2,074 passengers. The excursions organised by Aitken Spence Travels had over 1,000 passengers joining in to enjoy the city and immediate locations of Sri Lanka, such as the Colombo heritage walk, exploring the city of Galle and Sri Lankan river safari.

Marella Discovery commenced its voyage from Europe, calling at Italy, Crete, and moving onto Egypt, Jordan, Oman, UAE, and several ports in India on her way to Sri Lanka, and will thereafter cruise towards Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. The vessel, which cruised under the flag of Malta, called Colombo from Cochin, India, and Sabang, Indonesia is her next port of call.  Established in 1868, Aitken Spence marks its 150th anniversary. The Company has grown to great heights, especially with the diversification of the company in 2004 into non-traditional areas. The Company’s involvement in port efficiency enhancement projects in new markets has helped to successfully pursue a long-term directional shift from being service-related to becoming an investment-driven operation.