By
Rebecca Gibson |
The Port of Cork is to assess the feasibility of building a second dedicated cruise berth in Cobh to increase cruise traffic and accommodate larger ships.
Home to Ireland’s only dedicated cruise berth, Cobh handled a record 62 cruise ships and more than 122,500 passengers and crew in 2013. This year, the port will welcome 54 calls, 108,000 passengers and 30,000 crew, which is expected to generate €15 million for the local economy.
Over the next five years, Cork aims to handle at least 75 cruise calls per year. Next year, the port authority will install additional bollards to Cobh’s existing cruise berth, enabling the world’s largest vessels to dock at the port.
“We have two main objectives over the next five years – to grow the number of cruise calls and increase overnight stays,” said Captain Michael McCarthy, Port of Cork’s commercial manager. “We are also aiming to handle Royal Caribbean International’s new Quantum-class vessels and to this effect, we are committed to investing in upgrading the current cruise facilities in Cobh. These ultra-large and modern vessels carry almost 5,000 passengers and no other port in Ireland is capable of berthing vessels greater than 300m currently, giving Cork a greater advantage when attracting new calls.”
The port authority also aims to berth all cruise vessels in Cobh, rather than docking some liners at the cargo terminal in Ringaskiddy. This will necessitate the construction of a second berth at the port.
“We’re fortunate that we have enough depth of water in Cobh to facilitate an additional berth and have the capacity to manoeuvre and swing these vessels free.” Said McCarthy. “Although the cost of upgrading the current facility in Cobh is very significant, the Port of Cork is committed to the cruise sector due to its considerable financial benefit to the local economy and the Munster region in general.”
Cork already has 17 vessels booked for the 2015 season.