India and Sri Lanka on Tuesday resumed sea ferry services for the first time in 30 years, aiming to boost tourism and economic cooperation after the end of Sri Lanka's civil war, Reuters reported. An Indian ferry with a capacity for 1,044 passengers docked at Colombo's port this morning after leaving Tuticorin port. Officials said a Sri Lankan ferry would also make the journey within two weeks, and the service could be boosted to three round trips a week, depending on passenger traffic. "(This) will be beneficial to the economic, social and cultural advancement of the two countries," Sri Lanka's Ports Ministry said in a statement. "With the end of the three-decade war in Sri Lanka, the tourism industry has gained impetus and is expected to have a boost from this ferry service." Ferry services between India and Sri Lanka stopped in 1982 due to civil war, which ended in 2009.
