Bangladesh is set to gain its first ever cruise operation after a local shipyard acquired a vessel from Japan’s Tokai Kisen.

Chattogram-based Karnafuli Shipbuilders has acquired the 5,000 passenger-cargo ship Salvia Maru (built 1992) for an undisclosed sum via Delta Dredging, a Singapore-registered single-ship owning entity.

The ship, which has been renamed Bay One, arrived in Chattogram this week and will undergo a refit before entering service in October.