May was an exciting month for cruise port development in the Baltic with the inauguration of four new terminals at Copenhagen Malmö and the opening of the new €9.34million cruise quay at Tallinn, Alan Lam reports.
In a major expansion programme, three new cruise terminals in Copenhagen and one in Malmö were added.
At the total investment of DKK600 million, according to CruiseBaltic, the port of Copenhagen has taken a major stride to meet the anticipated demand of the future. The new pier has space for three large cruise ships to berth along a 1,100-metre long and 70-metre wide quay. The new development includes three 3,300-m2 terminal buildings, each with 1,800 m2 of passenger handling space as well as 1,500 m2 of luggage handling space.
In Malmö in southern Sweden, the conversion of a 2,400-m2 warehouse into a cruise terminal is also complete, enabling Pullmantur to move its Empress from Copenhagen to the new facility. The port is part of CMP Ports, a Swedish-Danish company that also operates the Port of Copenhagen.
In Tallinn, the new €9.34 million cruise quay, officially opened on 17 May, allows larger ships - up to 340 metres in length, 42 metres in width and nine metres in draft - to dock, thus increasing the port’s appeal to cruise operators.
The construction of the new quay, next to the existingone in the Old City harbour, started in May 2013. The total length of the quay is now 421 metres with a width of 20 metres, and a guaranteed depth (at the quay wall) of 11 metres. The quay has also been outfitted with electricity supply, outdoor lighting, communications equipment as well as pipelines for supplying ships withfresh water and removing waste.
