Myeik-Yangon ferry service slated to resume

Express ferry services for the Myeik-Yangon route are planned to restart ensuring smooth transport, as per the Taninthayi Region Private Ferry Service Operators Association.
Amid high airfare costs and difficulty in buying air tickets at travel peak times, coastal ferry service operators discussed resuming the operation to facilitate transport.
“Ferry departs at 6 am from Myeik and arrives at 5 pm in Yangon. It is a day-trip plan. If the ferry accommodates 300 passengers on board, we barely make profits owing to maintenance costs, staff wages and other costs. However, we target to provide fast and sound commuting,” U Zaw Tun, secretary of the association.
In addition to the Myeik-Yangon ferry service, the Myeik-Kawthoung trip is also being arranged to ensure safe and sound travel for passengers.
“We contemplate in all aspects; safety, fuel price, number of passengers. If we calculate the estimated cost of the prevailing fuel price, a ferry ticket will cost approximately K200,000. We are preparing to resume the ferry service,” he elaborated.
Yangon-Myeik flights are fully booked and one has to buy the ticket 20 days in advance at least. The flight ticket is expensive, so low-income people cannot afford it. Furthermore, the public raised concerns over road safety. Express ferry service for Kawthoung-Yangon will also facilitate transport. At present, the Kawthoung-Myeik ferry runs only once a week, said a resident from Myeik.
The express ferry service running to and fro Myeik-Yangon was operated ten years ago. After suspension, the service is aimed to resume in the open season. The flight ticket is K448,000 for the Kyawthoung-Yangon flight, K190,000 for Myeik-Kawthoung and K278,000 for Myeik-Yangon. — Myint Oo/KK