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Carnival Corporation breaks ground on new cruise terminal in Sasebo, Japan
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations
- Published: 09 October 2019 09 October 2019
Carnival Corporation & plc has officially began construction of the cruise industry's first cruise terminal in Japan, located at the port of Sasebo, with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by government, business and community representatives. In attendance for Carnival Corporation were Remco Buis, senior vice president port operations and development, and Paul Chong, vice president of business development for Carnival Asia, as well as representatives from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), and the city of Sasebo.
As part of a strategic partnership agreement signed in March 2018 with the city of Sasebo and MLIT Japan, Carnival Corporation will construct and operate the new terminal, expected to open in summer 2020. The partners in the Sasebo development project are working together on an efficient, contemporary design for the terminal to accommodate the corporation's existing and newest ships. Under the 20-year agreement, Carnival Corporation and its cruise line brands will be granted berthing preference, enabling them to provide guests with optimized cruise itineraries when visiting the port.
"As the cruise industry's first terminal in Japan, this groundbreaking is a historic day for all of us at Carnival Corporation and for our partners in this exciting project," said Michael Thamm, group CEO, Costa Group and Carnival Asia. "This new terminal will complement our strong presence in the Asia-Pacific region and furthers our commitment to help facilitate the rising demand for cruise vacations in the region, enabling even more people from around the world to discover why Japan is such an extraordinary destination, one that many of our guests have long enjoyed. And as our company's first cruise terminal investment in Japan, we are excited to mark the start of our long-term relationship. We are actively working on future investment opportunities to help further support growth and expand the Japanese cruise industry for years to come."
Japan's ports have witnessed exceptional growth over the past few years, and cruising continues to increase in popularity in Asia. The company will continue to work with Japan's government and MLIT to identify potential additional port development opportunities and future investments in the country.
Japan is a popular destination for seven of Carnival Corporation's cruise line brands, including AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises (UK), Princess Cruises and Seabourn. Overall, Carnival Corporation is expecting to accommodate an estimated 2 million passenger movements in the market in 2019, with nearly 800 calls from 15 ships from the company's cruise line brands to over 50 ports in Japan.
Port of Cannes presents the Four Environmental Commitments for Cruise Lines at the MedCruise GA
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations
- Published: 06 October 2019 06 October 2019
MedCruise General Assemblies have established themselves as major cruise events in the Mediterranean and adjoining seas. The latest edition of the MedCruise General Assembly has been hosted by the MedCruise member French Riviere – CCI Côte d’Azur, composed by Ports of Cannes, Antibes, Nice and Villefranche.
Nearly nine hundred B2B meetings took place between MedCruise members and cruise lines executives as well as international cruise press representatives during two very busy days. Moreover, up to six Plenary Sessions, made up of quality cruise experts, have provided interesting discussions about the industry and opportunities to learn more about trends in the Mediterranean in terms of the cruise market.
One of the plenary sessions was focused on Environmental Issues, with the Director of the Port of Cannes, Mr. Eric Barrat, being among the speakers. Barrat presented he Four Environmental Commitments for Cruise Lines in the bay of Cannes, being the sustainable commitments as follows:
– Reduction of pollutant emissions in the air; by using 0.1% sulfur content fuel when sailing and maneuvering at the bay.
– Reduction of pollution at sea; by no rejecting treated water in pilotage nor berthing areas.
– Protection of biodiversity; by bypassing Posidonia meadows during maneuvers and anchoring.
– Implementation of a globalized environmental approach; by promoting environmental-friendly initiatives.
Finally, Barrat announced that this agreement is about to be signed with different cruise lines, which will enjoy a financial bonus per passenger and call.
“MedCruise Association fully supports any environmental initiative and green action promoted by any of the ports in the region and encourages all its members to work together for a greener industry and a sustainable growth," said MedCruise President right after the Plenary Session on Environmental Issues.
Lerwick ends the cruise season with a new record
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations
- Published: 01 October 2019 01 October 2019
A positive season for the cruise industry at Lerwick Harbour, Shetland, draws to a close today (Tuesday 1 October), with the final arrival for 2019 – the 99th cruise ship at the port since March, eight more than the record set in 2018.
Fred Olsen Cruises’ Black Watch, sailing on a 13-night northern Norway scenic islands voyage, berthed at Holmsgarth 5.
Bookings for 2020 will potentially break three records, with 105 cruise ships scheduled to call, an estimated 92,000 passengers and over 4 million gross tonnes of shipping. Thirteen maiden calls will be a highlight, including two newly-launched vessels, Ponant Cruises’ Le Bellot and Saga’s Spirit of Adventure. The 2020 season will include a larger number of mid-sized vessels compared with 2019.
Melanie Henderson, Lerwick Port Authority’s Cruise & Marketing Manager, said: “The signs are very positive for growth again next year with an encouraging number of cruise lines scheduling repeat calls in the season and three new cruise lines visiting for the first time – Carnival, Mystic and TUI.”
Lerwick’s 2019 cruise season had a number of cancellations because of external factors, such as weather en-route and operational changes, with a final passenger count of over 76,200.
Henderson added: “Call-offs to scheduled visits are disappointing for the passengers and everyone involved onshore, particularly when the causes are beyond our control. Lerwick and Shetland’s reputation as a must-see destination is as strong as ever, with a number of accolades in 2019 and bookings up to four years ahead.
“The supply and service sector in the islands is making an increasingly important contribution in meeting the industry’s requirements and encouraging operators to return.”
Incheon Port Authority to slash passenger vessel emissions with ABB shore power
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations
- Published: 20 September 2019 20 September 2019
ABB has secured the contract covering South Korea’s commitment to sustainable shore-to-ship power, after a pilot scheme for passenger ships to plug into the local grid received the go ahead from Incheon Port Authority (IPA).
“As the first agreement covering shore-to-ship power in South Korea, this is a truly significant breakthrough for ABB,” said Juha Koskela, Managing Director, ABB Marine & Ports. “We are honored to be selected by IPA to support their efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships, as well as moving towards increasingly sustainable port operations.”
In addition to a new USD 160 million ferry terminal opened in April 2019, Port of Incheon inaugurated South Korea’s largest cruise terminal in June this year. Given its metropolitan location and IPA’s ambitions to develop its ‘Golden Harbor’ vision for Incheon as a new tourism hub for the Northeast Asia, environmental credentials rank highly in port priorities.
ABB’s full scope of delivery includes the installation of an onshore power connection at the Incheon passenger terminal consisting of an enclosure featuring a 2000 kVA capacity Static Frequency Convertor with 50/60HZ output, a transformer, a Neutral Grounding Registor Unit and an outdoor enclosure.
ABB’s shore-to-ship power technology is proven from the performance and reliability point of view, but also in terms of optimizing the cost of electricity. It has already been integrated by over 50 ports around the world into strategies that reduce emissions overall and incentivize clean shipping.
An increasing number of ports around the world offer shore power for ferries, as well as other passenger vessel types. There is a clear interest to lower pollution in ports, and one way of doing that is to install shore power and have a clean grid feeding to it.
Cruise tourism brought Svalbard $12 million in earnings in 2018
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations
- Published: 13 September 2019 13 September 2019
A new study of the economic impact of cruise tourism in Svalbard shows that expedition and conventional cruise ships made a substantial contribution to the local economy by purchasing goods and services for more than USD 12 million last year.
Tourism has been highlighted as an important industry for Svalbard now and in the years to come. As Arctic tourism continues to grow, the travel industry is taking steps to contribute to knowledge-based management of tourism in Svalbard. So far, there has not existed an overview of how much money cruise operators leave behind in the community when visiting Svalbard. A new study brings these facts to the table.
The study takes into account personal spending by passengers while they are ashore as well as all the goods and services that the operator purchases locally, such as supplies, shore and sea-based excursions, accommodation, port facilities and fees.
The study shows that expedition cruises have an average economic contribution of 4,235 NOK (USD 474) per passenger, while conventional cruises have an economic contribution of 810 NOK (USD 90) per passenger. The economic contribution per expedition cruise passenger is 5,2 times larger than that of conventional cruise passengers. Expedition cruise ships make substantial purchases locally in Svalbard, contributing to their high economic contribution per passenger.
Conventional cruising is used to describe cruise operators on transit call in Longyearbyen where Svalbard is one of many destinations in an international cruise itinerary. Expedition cruising is characterized by smaller vessels that are not reliant on port infrastructure and bring passengers close to nature by making landings in more remote areas. For the purpose of this study, expedition cruising has been defined as a cruise operator that is a member of the AECO that operates in the Arctic and others with interest in the industry.
The total economic contribution generated by cruise tourism in Svalbard in 2018 is estimated to be 110 million NOK (USD 12 million). Expedition cruises, which carried 17 245 passengers to Svalbard in 2018, contribute with two thirds of the amount, while conventional cruises contribute with a third. The sheer volume of conventional cruise passengers, with 45 097 passengers in 2018, means that even though there is a low per passenger expenditure, they still make up a substantial amount of the economic impact. Estimates show that the number of cruise passengers visiting Svalbard will increase next year, leading to an increase in local revenue from cruise tourism.
The Epinion study was presented at the Optimal Tourism Balance Workshop in Longyearbyen September 11, 2019. The study was commissioned by Visit Svalbard and the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) and funded by Svalbard Environmental Protection Fund.
Representatives of the travel industry believe that this study will help enlighten the debate around cruise tourism in Svalbard.
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