Klaipeda port registers 40 cruise ship calls this year
Year-to-date, 40 cruise vessels have made calls to the Klaipeda port’s passenger terminal, the Port Authority said.
Three registered ships did not arrive: the Deutschland - due to breakage, the Princess Daphne - because the vessel’s shipowner changed, the Albatros - due to unfavorable weather conditions.
This year, 37 cruise liners carried 20500 passengers to Klaipeda. In 2010, there were 45 vessels with 35,201 tourists on board.
Port charges from cruise ships that visited the port of Klaipeda in 2011, are estimated roughly at about 0.92 million litas (vs 1.42m litas a year earlier).
"Admittedly, we see a decline in cruise shipping at the port of Klaipeda, the reason is… the lack of developed tourism services. We observe the same situation in other port cities. For example, the ports of Gdansk and Gdynia also report an 8-percent decrease in cruise shipping," Marketing Manager Kristina Gontier said.
The Port of Klaipeda Authority said it expected 22 cruise ships calls next year.
State-run Port of Klaipeda, the northernmost ice-free port on the East coast of the Baltic Sea, is the largest Lithuanian transport hub, connecting sea and inland traffic lanes. Currently, there are 17 stevedores, shipyards, other companies operating at the port and providing ranged forwarding and logistics services. In 2010, Port of Klaipeda cargo throughput increased year-over-year by 10.9%, to 31,27m tons.