Work on the grounded Bangladesh-flagged vessel MV Maa near Tenneti Park has raised concerns about compliance with National Green Tribunal (NGT) directions, even as a proposal to turn the ship into a tourism attraction awaits statutory clearances.
Videos circulating on social media purportedly show work being done on the vessel. Residents and environmental activists have asked authorities to explain the activity and disclose the permissions under which the work is being carried out.
While disposing of a suo motu case related to the project, the NGT directed that no construction, stabilisation measures, installation of structures, or tourism-related activities, including preliminary works, be undertaken until all statutory clearances, including Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and forest approvals are secured.
“The matter was brought to our notice today. The NGT had directed that the project, or any activity planned as part of it, be halted until the required clearances were obtained,” stated VVSS Sarma, an expert member of the AP coastal zone management authority.
“We have forwarded the message to the higher officials of the APCZMA,” Sarma added.
The tourism development corporation, which proposed developing the vessel as a tourism attraction, has yet to complete the prescribed approval process. Minutes of the APCZMA meeting held on July 15, 2026 indicate that the proposal was under consideration.
The authority reportedly directed APTDC to constitute a high-level committee to finalise the proposed tourism facilities and resubmit the proposal through the PARIVESH 2.0 portal for further examination.
APCZMA had also advised against including a kitchen and banquet hall in the project. However, a subsequent field inspection found that both facilities were being considered, prompting the authority to seek a further review of the project components.
“Previously, we had also objected to facilities such as a kitchen on the vessel, as the proposal was to bring cooked food from the nearby Haritha Resorts,” Sarma said.
Environmentalists say the vessel’s location within an intertidal zone warrants particular caution. They warned that activities such as painting the ship could affect marine organisms, while proposed road development and other infrastructure may disturb the rocky shoreline and nearby turtle-nesting habitats.
“The issue is not tourism, but of ensuring that development does not damage a fragile coastal ecosystem,” an environmental expert said, noting that the area supports several marine species rarely documented along the coast.
The site’s ecological significance drew attention during the City Nature Challenge earlier this year, when participants documented a translucent nudibranch, or sea slug, in the area. It is believed to belong to a species not recorded for more than 160 years.
MV Maa ran aground off the Visakhapatnam coast during adverse weather on October 13, 2020. After the attempts to refloat it failed, the ship was beached near Tenneti Park in December 2021 and later proposed as a tourism showpiece.
Residents and environmental groups are now seeking a clear statement from authorities on the work under way and its approval status. Their central question is whether the activity complies with the NGT’s direction that no work be undertaken before all required clearances are secured.
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