Hamburg saw a monster year of cruise business in 2018, with 220 calls and 915,000 guests, well up year-over-year from 198 calls and 813,000 guests in 2017.
Compared to 2015, traffic is up 76 percent, according to the port.
Sacha Rougier, Managing Director of Cruise Gate Hamburg (CGH) said, “This increase in cruise traffic exceeds the European market development. Hamburg ranks among the world’s top 20 home ports; in terms of growth it precedes even the home ports of Sydney and Miami. However, looking at the successful development since 2015 – CGH draws a positive balance– we also know that this is not the time to lean back and relax. We still need optimal conditions in Hamburg and the support of the shipping companies to continue our success story. When it comes to the cruise industry, the city’s foremost concern is environmental sustainability, that is sustainable, ecological growth. We strive to make Hamburg a green port.”
CGH, working with the port authority and city, is committing to providing eco-friendly power at all cruise berths.
Ships mooring at Steinwerder can opt to have a truck supply them with low-emissions liquefied natural gas (LNG) while at the berth.
In Altona, cruise ships have been switching off their engines since 2016, replying on European’s only shorepower installation.
These initiatives have reduced CO2 emissions by 658 tons, the port said.
The new terminal in HafenCity will also get shorepower when it opens in 2022.
Hamburg’s new Clean Air Plan aims to to lower nitrous oxide emissions from ships in the port by 1,160 tonnes by 2025.
“Growth and sustainability do not exclude each other. On the contrary, current passenger numbers clearly show that growth and measures to improve sustainability can co-exist,” added Michael Otremba, Managing Director of Hamburg Convention Bureau.
For 2019, the city is hosting a number of maiden calls including the Mein Schiff 2, Hanseatic Nature, that will be christened in Hamburg in April, and the Hanseatic Inspiration, Roald Amundsen, World Explorer, Costa Smeralda and MSC Grandiosa, which is set for a November christening.
Also of note is Hamburg Cruise Days, scheduled from Sept. 13 to 15. The event is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of cruise enthusiasts from all over the world to the Port of Hamburg.
“The Hamburg Cruise Days and the BluePort concept developed by Michael Batz significantly enhance citizens’ and visitors’ experience in that they enable them to enjoy and feel the special atmosphere and the city’s maritime identity. Our high quality standards combined with the emotions we evoke when the port becomes a stage underline the fact that Hamburg has the most eventful port in the world,” Otremba added.
Among the ships expected are the AIDAperla, AIDAsol, AIDAvita, Amadea, Costa Mediterranea, Europa, Europa 2, Mein Schiff 4, MSC Preziosa and the World Explorer.
