By
Laura Hyde |
Cruise Norway and Cruise Baltic shared several key updates from their port and destination partners at an event in Miami, Florida, ahead of Seatrade Cruise Global, which is taking place this week in the US state.
“Cruise Baltic and Cruise Norway are friendly competitors and very close allies; we’ve created something quietly wonderful that echoes across the sea and we’re bound together by all of Europe’s history,” said Klaus Bondam, director of Cruise Baltic, who opened the event with Monica Berstad, who was appointed CEO of Cruise Norway on 1 February 2024.
During the event, attendees were able to meet with representatives from ports and destinations in Norway and the Baltic Sea region and discuss their latest updates and developments. Some of the topics covered included increases in cruise ship calls and visitor numbers, shore power implementation, port expansions and new excursions. In addition, Cruise Baltic member the Port of Turku in Finland shared how it is working with passenger ferry operator Viking Line to implement a green corridor between Turku and Stockholm, Sweden, by 2035 at the latest.
Norway’s Port of Stavanger will introduce a new daily cap on cruise ships in 2026, meaning it will welcome a maximum of two ships at a time (with the possibility for one extra small ship) and 8,000 passengers maximum per day.
Below are some of the highlights from the ports and destinations.
Shore power
In 2023, the Port of Aarhus inaugurated Denmark’s first shore power supply system for cruise ships. The port aims to become the most sustainable port in the Baltic Sea area and be carbon neutral by 2030.
Norway’s Port of Oslo will have shore power capabilities at both its Revier Quay and Filipstad Quay by 2026, which is ahead of 2030 date set by the European Union (EU). Elsewhere in Norway, the Port of Narvik is expected to offer shore power connectivity to cruise ships from 2025, Eidfjord Port plans to do the same by 2026 and Trondheim Port Authority has been allocated NOK20 million ($18.6 million) to build shore power infrastructure at its main cruise quay. It is estimated the total cost of the project will be NOK87 million ($81.2 million).
Several Cruise Baltic members will also soon offer shore power. Copenhagen Malmö Port in Denmark expects to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2025 via a number of initiatives, including the installation of shore power for cruise ships. Shore power capabilities at the port will be ready by 2025 with full capacity expected by 2028.
The Port of Tallinn in Estonia is preparing the infrastructure for shore power capabilities, which it hopes to have operational by 2030. The substation has been designed to “blend aesthetically” into the port and surrounding Old City Harbour.
Ports of Stockholm in Sweden, which has two cruise quays with shore power capabilities, is to further develop its electricity infrastructure further after the government approved its bid to apply for EU funding. If EU funding is awarded, the port’s three sustainability projects will run between 2024 and 2025, or until 2026 at the latest.
The event was attended by selected media outlets and representatives from member ports and destinations from Cruise Norway and Cruise Baltic
Port expansion
The Port of Kristiansand in Norway is installing three new bollards as part of a project to upgrade its cruise berth and increase safety during mooring operations. Additionally, the port is building a new tourist information office located a few hundred metres from the cruise pier. The free passenger ferry Sundbåten has extended its route to include new parts of the town of Kristiansand. It will also operate longer days.
Meanwhile, the Port of Nordfjordeid is constructing a second tender dock and refurbishing the terminal building. It will feature a new exterior and signage, and offer information on attractions.
The Norwegian Port of Hammerfest’s new 400-metre city centre quays are due to be completed in summer 2024. The quay, which has been created as part of the Clean Harbor project, will serve cruise ships and local passenger vessels between 100 and 300 metres in length.
The Port of Renne in Denmark is expected to complete its new 400-metre, multipurpose quay in the western part of the port by April 2025.
The Port of Turku, which is aiming to be climate neutral by its 800th anniversary in 2029, will build a new ferry passenger terminal. The port also hopes to enable small cruise ships to anchor near the small islands in the archipelago that surrounds the city.
In Sweden, the Port of Lysekil is to increase the length of its pier from 250 metres to 255 metres, which will enable larger cruise vessels to dock at the Swedish port. Meanwhile, the Port of Ystad on the southern coast of Sweden continues to improve its facilities and adopt eco-friendly practices to establish itself as a permanent cruise destination in the Baltic Sea region.
Finland’s Port of Helsinki now offers a new ferry service from West Harbour cruise quays to and from the city centre. The port has also deployed its cruise call booking system GISGRO this year.
From left: Kaj Takolander and Jukka Haarni from the Port of Helsinki and Petra Cranston from Port of HaminaKotka with Cruise & Ferry’s Kimberley Mclean and Jon Ingleton
Read more news from Cruise Norway port and destination partners.
Read more news from Cruise Baltic port and destination partners.