Wallem Ship Agency Japan handles its first cruise ship call

Wallem’s agency team in Japan recently welcomed the MSC Lirica on her maiden call to Japan. The vessel arrived in Fukuoka (Hakata) on April 29 with 1,764 passengers and 743 crew onboard before heading back to Shanghai.

This call marks both the first Japanese port for the ship on its inaugural season in Asia and the first cruise call for Wallem’s agency team in Japan.

“Thanks to Wallem’s strong experience in the cruise business, particularly in Asia (handling over 450 calls across Asia this cruise season), the team made sure that every eventuality was prepared and planned for so that this inaugural call went off without a hitch,” the company said in a statement.

Wallem has been providing port agency services for MSC ships calling at Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand since 2015. With this new business, the company will now look after MSC calls throughout the region, including Hong Kong, Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan.

Following its maiden call, the MSC Lirica will call at other Japanese ports (Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Beppu, Kobe and Yokohama) in the future and Wallem Japan will handle these regular weekly calls across Japan.

Piraeus Port Authority welcomes Carnival Vista

Management and executives of PPA headed by the General Manager Stavros Hatzakos welcomed in the port of Piraeus the newly built cruise ship Carnival Vista and handed honorary gifts to the captain Rocco Lubrano and books for the library board. In a formal ceremony attended by Secretary General of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Christos Lampridis, representatives of Customs, Shipowners Union of Cruise & Maritime Institutions, maritime agencies and others, while the Carnival was represented by Vice President Michel Nestour.

The 324 m. long cruise ship with 3,700 passengers and 1,500 crew members, began its maiden voyage from Trieste, during the summer will use Piraeus as a port of arrival and departure of the Mediterranean routes and will reach five times the port with about 50,000 passengers.

The start of cooperation with the Carnival Vista expected to contribute to further development of homeporting, is the result of the Management efforts during Seatrade convention in Miami to attract major cruise companies and reinforce in this way the national effort for development. This agreement, if used properly, can provide enormous potential in the cruise business and to enhance the promotion of the Greek tourist product.

PPA in order to achieve smooth ship and passenger service has implemented a series of measures in areas within and outside the Passenger Terminal Themistocles, essential for the success of the whole project. These interventions relate to improvements of existing infrastructure and equipment and are summarized as follows:

– Create new indoor passenger waiting areas of 1000 seats with air conditioning and the necessary equipment to check in (60 points) for passengers.
– Conversion of the first floor of the departure hall as special waiting room and control (X-RAYS) of the ship's crew.
– Creation of additional posts for passenger screening, suitcases and hand luggage (X-RAYS).

On the occasion of the ship arrival Chairman & CEO of PPA S.A. Ioannis Kouvaris stated: "With great pleasure we welcome the Carnival Vista which marks a new era of homeporting development in Piraeus. The PPA can serve any cruise ship in capable facilities, providing high quality services in accordance with international quality standards ISO 9001: 2008 and environmental ISO 14001: 2004 and is emerging as the most secure and attractive destination in the Eastern Mediterranean."

TUI Cruises to call seven times in Qatar

Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has announced an agreement with TUI Cruises through which the German cruise liner will be including Qatar in its itineraries for the 2017/18 season, bringing seven cruise ship calls with up to 17,500 visitors to Qatar.

The agreement between QTA and TUI Cruises comes as a result of discussions started at the Seatrade Europe Forum held in Hamburg in 2015 and puts Qatar on track to achieve its target of 250,000 visitors on board cruise ships in 2019.

The Qatar Ports Management Company – ‘Mwani Qatar’ has confirmed the berthing schedule for the cruise ships. QTA is working closely with Mwani Qatar to expand the various elements of the country’s cruise industry, in particular, Doha Port, which will be undergoing redevelopment in the coming months to transform it into a full-time cruise terminal and tourist attraction.

“The cruise tourism sector in Qatar provides huge opportunities for the growth of the country’s overall tourism industry and is central to the realization of the Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030,” commented Hassan Al Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development Officer at QTA. “The commitment of TUI Cruises to include Qatar in its 2017/2018 itineraries is testament to the significant development that the sector is undergoing, and gives us an encouraging boost as we continue to pursue other major cruise liners.”

Al-Ibrahim added that the conversations started in Hamburg and in Fort Lauderdale in March 2016 had continued from those started in Doha, December 2015 during the Seatrade Middle East Cruise Forum, which brought together global cruise line executives with regional stakeholders to discuss opportunities for the industry’s growth in the GCC.

He continued, “Qatar is set to receive between 35-40 ships in the upcoming 2016/2017 cruise season, bringing in an expected 55,000 passengers. This provides new and untapped investment opportunities for businesses to develop tourism products and services that cater to cruise visitors.”

TUI Cruises has planned for its Mein Schiff 5 ship to dock in Qatar. The ship is approximately 294 metres long, has 15 decks and the capacity to carry up to 2,506 passengers on two persons per cabin basis. The Mein Schiff 5 is also known for being an energy-efficient ship, consuming around 30 percent less energy than comparable cruise liners thanks to an advanced energy management system. Additionally, the ship is equipped with a modern exhaust cleaning system, which makes it to one of the most environmental-friendly cruise ships worldwide.

“Qatar is a very fascinating destination for TUI Cruises. We are very happy about the development of the harbor which makes it possible to call Qatar in the future. With its vibrant mix of modernity and history Qatar has a lot to experience for our guests. We are looking forward to having a close collaboration with Qatar Tourism Authority”, says Wybcke Meier, CEO TUI Cruises.

The Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030 (QNTSS) identifies the cruise industry as a focus area in coming years, with the outlook for Qatar to become an emerging cruise destination exceptionally bright. The GCC is among the top three cruise destinations worldwide during the winter months, offering tremendous opportunity for Qatar’s tourism sector and overall economy.

Valletta Cruise Port welcomes Carnival Vista

Valletta Cruise Port welcomed yesterday the Carnival Cruise Line brand in Malta, with the arrival of the cruise ship Carnival Vista. The ship was greeted by the lively tunes of a Maltese village band courtesy of Valletta Cruise Port plc.

In an address, the Minister for Tourism, Dr. Edward Zammit Lewis said this development was very exciting and that the islands looked forward to enhancing the relationship between the Maltese Islands and Carnival Cruise Line. Another interesting development is that approximately 80% of Carnival passengers are from the United States. This will help to diversify Malta’s cruise line market. Dr. Zammit Lewis said there was no doubt that the cruise market has taken on a critical importance within Malta’s tourism industry. A substantial number of first time visitors return for a longer stay, generating further business in tourism.

2015 was an absolute record year for the industry in Malta as 307 cruise line vessels entered the Grand Harbour. According to figures published by the National Statistics Office, these vessels carried more than 670,000 passengers, up by 30% from 2014. Minister Zammit Lewis said the trend was continuing. Malta has just registered an exceptional rate of cruise tourism in winter. 17 cruise ships called in our port between January and March 2016, 8 more than last year. Nearly 40,000 passengers arrived in Malta in the 1st quarter of this year, an increase of 90% over the same period of 2015.

“The results attained reflect the drive by all stakeholders to develop our product and promote Malta’s increasing attractiveness and popularity as a leading cruise destination in the Mediterranean, in what is a highly competitive market,” stated Dr. Zammit Lewis. The success in this industry is the result of efficient and concerted collaboration between various parties. He reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to increase efforts and investment, for further growth in this industry, and stated that the excellent results achieved indicate that Malta is on the right track.

Meanwhile Valletta Cruise Port’s CEO Mr. Stephen Xuereb commented that in 2016 Valletta Cruise Port is welcoming more than 74 calls from Carnival brands which include amongst others Costa and AIDA, with over 150,000 passengers onboard. Seven of these calls are by Carnival Vista with over 27,000 passengers.

“Valletta Cruise Port has just invested €1.5 million in Forni Terminal to accommodate the increasing flows of passengers onboard the larger ships. Improving the infrastructure on Quays 4/5 and towards Lascaris Wharf is critical to the continued growth of the industry in Valletta. We are currently working on these plans looking to the future", commented Mr. Xuereb. "This year we have been vested with Best Mediterranean Port & Destination 2015 by Cruises News and Best Terminal Operator 2015 by Cruise Insight. Special thanks go to all the personnel of Valletta Cruise Port, who together with local stakeholders relentlessly work to ensure that Malta is professional, efficient, reliable and flexible in meeting expectations on all fronts."

First cruise ship of the year due in Hundested on Sunday

The 2016 cruise season will start at the Danish port of Hundested on Sunday, when Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ Braemar will arrive with about 900 mainly british passengers on board. The port will receive just three cruise calls this year, but it is working with other parties in the North Sjaelland region to develop the nascent business further.