Arakan State ferryboat services instructed to halt operations due to cyclone

By Admin 11 May 2023

DMG Newsroom
11 May 2023, Sittwe

Ferryboat services in Arakan State have been instructed to halt operations as of Thursday due to Cyclone Mocha, which is expected to sweep across the state soon, according to officials from the state’s Inland Water Transport authority.

A depression in the Bay of Bengal intensified into a cyclonic storm on May 11, and is expected to make landfall along the Arakan coast on May 14, according to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.

“Ferryboat services, cargo ships and ocean liners were ordered to suspend operations due to the cyclonic storm Mocha,” said an Inland Water Transport official.

“We issued a warning letter on May 11, instructing the ferryboat services, cargo ships and ocean liners in Arakan State to suspend operations. All ferryboat services will be allowed to resume operations after the storm,” the official added.

“We will halt our operations starting May 12,” said U San Maw Thein, manager of Shwe Pyi Tan express boat service, which runs ferryboat services to several townships in Arakan State.

“We will halt our operations depending on weather conditions. We cannot say exactly how long the operations of the ferryboat services will be suspended,” he told DMG.

The DMH said if the storm makes landfall as expected, water levels may rise by 10 to 14 feet at river mouths and tributaries in Arakan State’s Sittwe and Maungdaw districts, and 7 to 10 feet at river mouths and tributaries in Kyaukphyu District.

Strong winds, heavy rains, flash flooding, and landslides and floods may occur as the cyclone makes landfall, warned DMH, which urged those living in the Arakan State highlands and those along the coast to take precautions.