Ports & destinations

Port Canaveral first U.S. port to support Covid-19 vaccinations for seafarers

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 01 May 2021 01 May 2021

Port Canaveral is the first U.S. port to sponsor Covid-19 vaccine distribution to port workers and vessel crew members in response to a Florida Public Health Advisory approved by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Scott A. Rivkees, MD issued on April 29 expanding vaccine eligibility to include individuals who are in the state for purpose of providing good or services for the benefit of residents and visitors of the State of Florida.

“We have been working closely with our cruise partners, the Florida Department of Health, and our port community to come up with a plan and timeline of vaccinating cruise ship crews that could begin the process for a safe return to cruising,” stated Capt. John Murray, Port CEO. “This expanded eligibility is significantly important for our cruise tourism business, and we’re proud of our efforts to help get this industry up and running.”

Port Canaveral developed its vaccination model in cooperation with the Parrish Healthcare Center at Cape Canaveral, Canaveral Fire Rescue, and cruise lines medical personnel. Up to 1,000 Covid-19 vaccination shots per day can be provided to vessel crew members, shoreside and waterside support personnel, which aligns with recommendations released this week by the federal Centers for Disease Control for a return to cruising in the U.S.

Port Canaveral officials consulted with the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and cruise line operators, as well as the CDC to develop its vaccination model to efficiently and expeditiously get vaccines disbursed to crew members and shoreside personnel. Ship operators responded positively to the expanded eligibility and vaccine doses were administered to personnel on Friday at the Port.

Earlier this week, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidance, allowing cruise ships to sail with vaccinated crew and passengers as early as mid-July. The change to the restart timeline comes after a month of twice-weekly meetings between the CDC’s maritime team and the cruise industry and ports, including Port Canaveral.

Port of Sanary invests for new mooring buoy for cruise ships

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 20 April 2021 20 April 2021

The port of Sanary-sur-Mer is the first of the 9 ports in the Var Provence Cruise Club network to invest and set up a mooring buoy. This new environmentally friendly equipment helps protect the Posidonia sea bed and will allow future cruise ships to be welcomed in the best safety and security conditions.

After several years of administrative procedures and a public enquiry, a mooring buoy is now operational since March 2021 in the bay of Sanary-sur-Mer.

The cost of this investment amounted to approx. €500,000.

The size of this mooring buoy is calibrated for vessels with a maximum length of 224 meters and a maximum tonnage of 56,000 gross tons. An equipment perfectly adapted to the fleet of luxury companies who are regularly scheduling calls in Sanary-sur-Mer: 11 calls are expected in 2021 of cruise lines such as Seadream Yacht Club, Windstar Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line and Azamara.

Under the responsibility of the city, all cruise call requests are subject to a prior authorization from the Port Authority of Sanary-sur-Mer. This mooring buoy provides cruise lines exclusivity in Sanary with only one cruise ship calling per day. The guarantee of a quality visit in total peace of mind for their cruise guests.

In addition, the town is certified I.S.P.S (International Ship and Port Facility Security). It is therefore listed among the major international seaports with ISPS certification, thus guaranteeing that cruise ships calling at Sanary will have security measures in place (restricted area, passenger control, etc.) and that cruise passengers will be safe in the port. In addition to the commercial port of Toulon, only three other towns in the Var region have received this certification: Sanary, Saint-Raphaël and Saint- Tropez.

Since 2016, Sanary has joined the "Cruise Friendly" quality welcome. A certification which aims to upgrade the welcoming of this cruise customer target. More than 70 shopkeepers and leisure providers are entirely devoted to deliver a quality welcome, grant a special discount or gift upon purchase to cruise passengers to enhance their experience ashore.

Antigua secures home port deal with P&O Cruises

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 02 April 2021 02 April 2021

Antigua Cruise Port has finalized negotiations with Carnival-owned P&O Cruises, the world’s largest leisure company, to homeport a new megaship in Antigua. The vessel Arvia, which translates from Latin to “From the Seashore”, is currently under construction in Germany and will join the P&O Cruises fleet in December 2022.

Antigua Cruise Port led by Dona Regis-Prosper, Global Ports Holdings General Manager for Antigua, expressed her excitement with P&O’s notice of homeporting at the GPH Antigua Cruise Port. “ We are thrilled to partner with P&O and the Antigua Ministry of Tourism in the return to cruise tourism in Antigua” said Regis-Prosper.

Global Ports Holding PLC entered into a concession agreement with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda in 2019 to develop and manage Antigua’s cruise port. As part of this agreement, GPH recently completed construction of the fifth berth, which is the newest pier at St. John’s Port. Arvia is one of the first ships confirmed to use the new pier, which will enable Oasis class and Excellence class vessels to bring tens of thousands of additional passengers to Antigua annually.

“The anticipation of more cruise ships coming into Antigua faster than originally projected means that we will push the start of the $2 million uplift of the Heritage Quay Shopping Mall and the $25 million commercial development at Pointe to begin as quickly as possible,” she continued.

GM Dona Regis- Prosper thanked her team, the Government and other industry partners for their continued support and commitment to the development of Antigua Cruise Product.

In addition to a major transit port, Antigua is uniquely positioned for homeporting for cruise lines, offering key services that provide convenience and added value for cruise passengers and vessels. In addition to its strategically beneficial location at the heart of the Caribbean, Antigua boasts various homeporting assets including the ability to facilitate airlift from major cities in Europe and North America, allocation of a designated airport terminal for homeporting, five berths, and provisioning and other services at the port.

Colin Murphy, Head of Business Development in the Americas for GPH, heralded the new partnership as “one of the many significant benefits that working with GPH has been able to bring to Antigua.” He added that “No matter which destination we partner with, we are always focused on supporting the success and welfare of the community. Our strong relationships with the cruise lines helped us to support the finalization of homeport deals in Nassau, Bahamas and now, we have delivered a similarly successful opportunity for Antigua. We will continue to collaborate with our cruise partners to find the most meaningful ways to create lasting benefits for destinations like Antigua that have given us an opportunity to help them enhance their tourism product. It’s a win for everyone.”

Regis-Prosper added that, “Our booking rates for the second half of 2021 and for 2022 remain steady, so we are truly looking forward to resuming cruising and helping our Heritage Quay tenants, downtown stakeholders, and other port partners return to a sense of normalcy. We know that our tourism partners are very anxious to return to work, as are we, so we are doing everything we can to help resume cruising to and from Antigua safely. This includes launching discussions with cruise lines that have not historically called on our port. We will continue to work with the Government and other relevant partners to ensure that Antigua & Barbuda embraces these considerable opportunities quickly in our very competitive Caribbean cruise market.”

Le Havre port and organisations offer breakfast boxes to crews

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 07 April 2021 07 April 2021

As the result of local initiative in the Port of Le Havre in France, breakfast boxes and messages of goodwill are delivered to ships that call at the port of on the Channel coast.

“Since March 15, a French breakfast with fresh baguettes, croissants, jam and other delicacies is delivered to the ships, as well as a supportive message to Captain and Crew. The surprise and happiness are great, they go well beyond this ‘gourmet box,’ as shown by the many grateful messages received,” the port authority said in a statement.

Initiated by the Propeller Club of Le Havre, many organisations are involved with the project. These include The Maritime and Port Companies Union, private terminal operator Compagnie Industrielle et Maritime, religious associations Mission de la Mer and Deutsche Seemann Mission plus the Association Havraise d'Accueil des Marins and the Propeller Club itself, the port said.

Crew welfare has become a major issue in shipping in the wake of Covid-19 as many of them have been forced to spend extensively long periods of time onboard ships as crew changes have been greatly hampered by travel restrictions and suspension of airline services.

Phuket to open quarantine free to fully vaccinated visitors 1 July

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 31 March 2021 31 March 2021

The resort town of Phuket in Thailand will start to welcome fully vaccinated visitors, without quarantine, on 1 July, SEA Tours said a statement.

This follows a decision by the country’s Public Health Ministry and it means that visitors arriving by any mode of transport will be able to visit the town, but in small groups at start, the tour operator said.

The Thai government expects to have all locals at Phuket vaccinated before the end of June.

“Samui, Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Pattaya, Kood, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and other destinations (are) to follow by year end,” SEA Tours said..