Hamburg charts big cruise growth, green port strides
Terminal operator Cruise Gate Hamburg expects to close the 2018 cruise season significantly above budget with more than 915,000 passengers projected on 220 calls, higher than the projected 880,000 and way up from the 813,000 last year.
Further growth is forecast next year, with seven maiden calls including some very large ships along with record attendance expected at the 2019 Hamburg Cruise Days in September.
Cruise growth, however, should not negatively impact air quality, with harmful air emissions to be reduced by the use of clean shore power.
Green port strategy
CGH managing director Sacha Rougier outlined plans for evolving into a green port. The use of shore power at the Altona cruise terminal has reduced carbon dioxide emissions in the port by some 658 tonnes in both the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Hamburg's new HafenCity terminal, expected to become operational by 2022, will be equipped with shore power facilities, as well.
Consistently increasing the use of shore power and liquefied natural gas supplied to ships at the berth is one of the aims set out in the Hamburg Clean Air Plan. In 2017 a new, extended plan was adopted that puts special emphasis the port. Its aim is to lower nitrogen oxide emissions from ships by 1,160 tonnes by 2025. Hamburg is among the European pioneers of LNG use for cruise ships. Vessels mooring at Steinwerder be supplied with LNG by truck at the berth.
Maiden calls and christenings
Over the past three years, cruise tourism in Germany's largest seaport increased by 76%. For 2019, AIDA Cruises and MSC Cruises, followed by TUI Cruises, Cunard Line and Costa Cruises, will remain CGH's biggest customers. Maiden calls will include Mein Schiff 2, Hanseatic Nature, Hanseatic Inspiration, Roald Amundsen, World Explorer, Costa Smeralda and MSC Grandiosa. Hanseatic Nature and MSC Grandiosa will both be christened in Hamburg, in April and November respectively.
The seventh Hamburg Cruise Days will take place Sept. 13-15, when a dozen cruise ships are expected to visit. AIDA Cruises will again be a Hamburg Cruise Days premium partner, and MSC Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises are supporting the event. Apart from shipping companies, other partners such as Blohm+Voss shipyard and the local Holsten Brewery are also committed to the event. Talks with other prospective partners continue.
To enrich the Cruise Days programme, the 'Business Deck' will be added as a new element. This Sept. 13 workshop is intended to foster dialogue about cruise industry development, challenges and solutions, according to Hamburg Cruise Days organiser Katja Derow. An international, diverse mix of participants is planned.
For more about how Hamburg is preparing to handle LNG cruise ships, see Seatrade Cruise Review's cover story, 'Toward a greener future'
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