By
Alex Smith |
New and extended berths are to be completed at the four main ports of Okinawa prefecture in Japan this April, allowing for the arrival of larger cruise ships.
Construction is currently underway at the ports of Naha, Hirara, Ishigaki and Motobu to expand the capacity of the region to accommodate visits by larger vessels, with work set to be completed in April. At the Port of Naha, on the west coast of Okinawa Island, a second cruise berth is being built to receive ships of up to 220,000gt, which previously had to use the port’s container terminal.
The Port of Hirara, located 300 kilometres to the southwest of Okinawa Island on Miyako Island, previously added a new berth in 2020, which was then extended in 2021. Further works will now make it possible for ships of up to 220,000gt to make use of the extended berth from April.
Both the Port of Ishigaki on the island of Ishigaki and the Port of Motobu on Okinawa Island have also extended existing cruise berths to enable them to receive ships of a similar size.
The Naha second cruise berth is scheduled to receive 95 calls from April to December. Current restrictions from the Japanese government prevent the visits of international travellers, meaning that the first arrivals will be from domestic Japanese cruise lines.