Hatzakos highlights evolution of cruise activity in the Black Sea

Passenger numbers also grew in the four year period from around 110,000 in 2009 to almost 225,000 in 2013.

Hatzakos was among the keynote speakers of the 4th International Ports and Shipping Conference, held in St. Petersburg, Russia, from October, 1-3, 2014 participating in a cruise session of the Transtec Exhibition and Conference entitled ‘The Baltic and Black Seas - Gateways for Cruise Development in Russia and Eastern Europe’.

He referred to findings in the MedCruise Statistical Report 2014, and explained how the Mediterranean as a whole claimed a 21.7% share of global deployment last year, up from 17.6% in 2008, making it the second biggest cruise region behind the Caribbean. However the bulk of cruise ship activity is geared towards the West med and Adriatic with the Black Sea accouting for just 0.8% of all passenger movements in the Med last year.