By
Rebecca Gibson |
Finland’s Port of Helsinki opened its new cruise berth with the help of MSC Cruises on 30 April.
Located at the Hernesaari Dock, the new berth can accommodate vessels of up to 360 metres in length, which means it will be used by more than 90% of all cruise ships visiting Helsinki.
MSC Cruises’ MSC Meraviglia was the first ship to call at the new berth. MSC Cruises’ senior vice president Michele Francioni joined port CEO Ville Haapasaari and Helsinki’s deputy mayor Pia Pakarinen to cut the ribbon during the inauguration ceremony,
“Port of Helsinki is very proud to receive MSC Meraviglia as the first vessel to call at our newest berth,” said Haapasaari. “As she is one of the newest vessels in the area, she also represents most modern technologies and is by far the largest vessel by number of passengers visiting us. We hope to see this good development and excellent cooperation ongoing in the future.”
MSC Cruises’ ships call frequently at the new berth during the 2019 summer season.
“Northern Europe is a key area of focus and our ships call regularly in the Port of Helsinki during the summer season,” said Francioni. “Moving forward we are committed to increasing our capacity in the region, deploying our most modern and environmentally sound tonnage. MSC Meraviglia is an environmental role model in cruising and the complementary services from a well-positioned berth, will greatly help in delivering a seamless guest experience when calling Helsinki.”