By
Rebecca Gibson |
Germany’s Port of Kiel handled 128 calls from 22 cruise ships and more than 360,000 passengers in the 2103 season.
This year, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, MSC Cruises and TUI Cruises made a total of 85 calls, while Kiel was used as a turnaround and shorex port by smaller and mid-sized German ships. The highlight of the port’s season was the last weekend of Kiel Week, during which four of the eight cruise vessels calling at the port participated in the famous Windjammer Parade.
“We are striking a positive balance of the cruise season, with the total tonnage and the number of passengers exceeding last year’s level,” said Dirk Claus, the port’s managing director.
In June, Kiel opened the its new Berth No.1 in Ostuferhafen to increase its capacity to handle cruise traffic and relieve pressure at Terminal Ostseekai. The 400 m quay has a constant 10 m water depth, while the quayside’s fenders were adapted to the requirements of large ships. A new gangway was also installed at the end of May, allowing passengers to embark and disembark the ship more easily.
“The new Berth No.1 was well accepted, given that the infrastructure and the nautical conditions are excellent,” said Claus. “Today, Kiel has three terminal berths for handling very large cruise ships and with that, we have the capacity to increase the cruise ship calls to more than 150 in the mid-term.”
Numbers for next season also look positive with Kiel is already scheduled to welcome 124 calls by 20 different ocean cruise ships. During the 2014 season, which opens on 5 April, AIDAcara will offer 26 departures from the port, while Costa Cruises’ Costa Pacifica will make 12 calls. Hapag-Lloyd’s recently launched Europa 2 will also make an inaugural visit on 11 June.
In order to accommodate these passengers and increase its capacity to handle cruise traffic at Ostuferhafen, the port will carry out a €5.4 million development project in 2014. As part of this project, the port will redesign its 2,500sqm luggage handling area and construct a 1,500sqm passenger terminal area in a floodlit pavilion next to the waterfront. The terminal will have the capacity for handling cruise ships with up to 4,000 passengers and is scheduled for completion at the beginning of 2015.