|
The Port of Barcelona received 148,824 cruise
passengers between January and February, representing a growth of 14% over the
same period last year, and a break in seasonality of this activity, which used
to be concentrated between April and October, the warmest months in the year, in
the Mediterranean.
This was explained by the chairman of the Port Authority of Barcelona (APB),
Sixte Cambra, at the Cruise Shipping Miami international trade fair, held from
Monday to Thursday, which is the main cruise congress in the world, as informed
by the Port in a statement on Tuesday.
“The commitment to continue offering cruises between November and March ensures
a constant flow of people in the city”, said Cambra, who added that this also
enables permanent use of the cruise terminals, which otherwise would be
underused in winter.
Also, the number of cruise calls has increased from 35 in January and February
2013, to 53 in the first two months of 2014, which translates into a growth of
51%. Shipping company Norwegian Cruise Line has confirmed that its ship
Norwegian Epic will be based in the Port of Barcelona in winter 2015-2016, and
from the port-city enclave it will make nine and 12-night trips to the Canary
Islands and Morocco, as well as six and 12-night routes in the Western
Mediterranean.
The Port has six cruise terminals, five managed by “Creuers del Port de
Barcelona”, while the Carnival Group, the world’s largest cruise operator,
manages terminal D, called Palacruceros and currently undergoing expansion, and
plans to invest 20 million in the construction of terminal E.
It will be the home port of Oasis of the Seas (Royal Caribbean), which with a
capacity of 6,300 passengers plus 2,700 crew will call at Barcelona on 13, 18
and 23 September – it is expected that the 37,000 passengers who will embark on
Oasis of the Seas will have an economic impact of more than four million in the
Catalan capital.
Six cruise ships will call this year for the first time at the Port of Barcelona
(Aidasol, Emerald Princess, Regal Princess, Mein Schiff 3, Oasis of the Seas,
and Star Flyer), and the busiest day will be May 18, with over 32,000 passengers
arriving in seven vessels, and the busiest weekend will be between 12 and 14
September, with 58,000 passengers on 14 cruise ships.
In addition, between 16 and 18 September, Barcelona will host the first
Mediterranean cruise convention, Seatrade Med, at “Fira de Barcelona-Gran Via”,
with over 4,000 participants and 300 exhibitors.
Port of Barcelona leads the working group of the World Maritime Transport
Infrastructure (Pianc), which is developing the first technical guide for cruise
terminals and which is expected to be completed in one year.
The manual will collect the technical specifications involved in the
construction of a cruise terminal – buildings, docks, access and security – and
the people in charge of drawing up the guide are experts from the Netherlands,
Norway, Germany, the U.S. and India. |
