Ports & destinations

Largest cruise ship to date calls at Portland Port

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 23 September 2016 23 September 2016

Holland America Line's newest cruise ship, the Koningsdam, made its inaugural call to Portland Port recently.

The 99,500 gross ton, 2,650-passenger cruise ship departed from Italy on her maiden voyage in April of this year. She is the largest cruise ship to call at the port to date.

Ian McQuade, General Manager (Commercial) for Portland Port, commented: “It is exciting that Holland America’s newest flagship chose to call at Portland Port during her first year of operation and shows that the port’s cruise business is gaining momentum.”

The 2016 cruise season is nearly at an end for Portland Port, however the port is already eagerly anticipating the 2017 season when the Koningsdam will be visiting twice more. The excitement is enhanced by the imminent start of building works for the eagerly awaited cruise berth extension. The seabed surveys have been completed and the works are scheduled to begin in October, with completion anticipated in good time for the start of the 2017 season.

Portland is one of just three ports on the south coast of the UK that can already handle vessels up to 300m LOA alongside. The new facility will further strengthen the ports position by increasing this capability to berth vessels in excess of 340m LOA alongside. The extension will boast a new suite of mooring bollards, high capacity pneumatic floating fenders and a minimum water depth of 9.6m CD.

Ian McQuade, General Manager – Commercial, at Portland Port commented: “We are lucky to have minimum water depths of 9.6m on our main cruise berth, now with the berth extension we will be able handle ships in excess of 340m LOA, putting us in a very unique group of ports along the English Channel. When we add this to our proximity to the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Stonehenge, Bath and the Jurassic Coast, along with easy access to the many attractions of the beautiful English countryside, we feel we will be very well positioned to continue to serve an ever increasing range of cruise line customers."

The cruise berth extension and the arrival of cruise line flagships like Koningsdam and Mein Schiff 5 are good indicators for the future of Portland Port and its cruise programme.

As the cruise ships sailing the world continue to grow in size, the new cruise berth will allow Portland to accommodate some of the biggest cruise ships in operation.

Pacific Eden puts Cairns on cruise base port list

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 15 September 2016 15 September 2016

P&O Cruises Australia’s Pacific Eden has made history, becoming the first cruise ship ever to be based in Cairns in the state of Queensland, the company said in a statement.

“The 1500 guest ship, which set sail on her first roundtrip cruise from the city on Saturday (Sept 10), will call Cairns home until November 11, carrying an estimated 13,000 holidaymakers on nine cruises from the city, including to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands,” the company said.

The inaugural season is expected to deliver more than AUD6 million to the State’s economy in passenger and crew spending, provedoring and associated port charges.

According to industry figures, Queensland is the second biggest source market for Australian cruisers with more than 280,000 Queenslanders cruising in 2015. Queensland is also home to more cruise destinations than any other state in Australia, with P&O ships now sailing to 11 destinations along its coast. In addition to launching Cairns as a new homeport, the cruise line has opened up a range of new Queensland ports in recent years including Gladstone and Fraser Island earlier this year.

With an estimated 40% of guests travelling from interstate to join the Cairns’ cruises, the two-month cruise season will provide a boost to local accommodation and travel operators, restaurants and cafes. According to industry figures, domestic cruisers spend an average AUD483 a day on accommodation, shopping, dining and transport before boarding a ship in an Australian port, said P&O Cruises Australia, which is part of the Carnival Corporation & plc group.

Argentina and Uruguay seek to develop closer cruise ties with Chile

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 02 September 2016 02 September 2016

Alan Lam reporting

The port authorities of both Argentina and Uruguay have begun a bilateral cooperation aiming primarily at re-enforcing their cruise business relations with Chile.

In the light of the recent declines in cruise traffics to and from ports situated in the River Plate region (which suffered a 6.4% fall in calls and 4.1% reduction in passengers and crew during the last season), the authorities of both countries are keen to seek out new opportunities. They have recently reached an agreement intending on establishing stronger cruise port ties with Chilean ports from the 2016-2017 season onward.

In practice, they aim to link ports in and around River Plate - such as Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Colonia, and Punta del Este - with Chilean ports such as Punta Arenas, Puerto Montt, and Valparaíso, creating a so-called “cruise circuit” (circuíto de cruceros) among them, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

A meeting was held in Buenos Aires in late August, attended by key representatives from both Argentina and Uruguay, to discuss strategies; but, interestingly, formal negotiations with Chilean authorities have yet to take place.

This initiative speaks as much about ameliorating the cruise business relations between Argentina and Uruguay as it does about cooperation with Chile. “Strengthening the cooperation with Uruguay,” said Gonzalo Mortóla of Argentine Port Administration (Administración General de Puertos de Argentina), “is fundamental to maximizing the links with the rest of the region and with the world.”

The cooperation among these Southern Cone countries will have a limited effect on cruise business without a substantial increase in capacity deployment and a corresponding improvement in the macro-economic outlooks of Argentina and Brazil - the two key source markets of the region. But the vibrancy of the expedition cruise market does work in their favour.

More than 230 cruise ships to transit Panama Canal 2016-17

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 14 September 2016 14 September 2016

Alan Lam reports

According to a communication from the Panama Canal authority, during the forthcoming 2016-17 cruise season, more than 230 cruise vessels will use the Canal to carry their passengers from one ocean to another.

The season will extend from October 2016 to April 2017. The first ship to arrive will be Coral Princess, which will use the original canal on 4 October on her voyage from Los Angeles, California, to the East Coast of USA.

During this period, among the Canal’s cruise clients are some of the smallest vessels, such as Un-Cruise’s Safari Voyager and Lindblad’s National Geographic Sea Lion, on account of the fact that cruise ships are generally not yet using the neoPanamax passage.

A number of new clients are expected for the season: they include Seven Seas Explorer of Regent Seven Seas, which is due to arrive on 2 January, Eurodam of Holland America Line, scheduled to use the Canal on 13 April, and Hebridean Sky of Noble Caledonia, which will arrive on 17 April.

The Canal authority has announced that it is ready to accept cruise ship bookings for the New Panama Canal from next year. To date, eleven cruise vessels have booked to use the neoPanamax Canal during the following season, between October 2017 and April 2018.

Global Port Holdings appoints Stephen Xuereb COO

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 30 August 2016 30 August 2016

Global Port Holdings (GPH), the world’s largest cruise port operator, says it has appointed Stephen Xuerenb as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company that operates 11 ports in eight countries. He joins his new position from that of General Manager of Malta Cruise Port, one of GPH group members. Xuereb has been employed in the cruise industry for the past 15 years, GPH said in a statement.