Gdansk, Poland, is ready to accept more calls
In 2022, the Port of Gdansk serviced 79 vessels with 29,251 passengers on board. This was its best year ever, both in terms of the number of vessels calling at the port and the revenue from port fees, which was nearly 2.5 times higher than the previous 2018 record.
This year the first vessel to arrive in the Port of Gdansk was Plantours’ Hamburg on April 20 with the final call from Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Hanseatic Nature being on December 17, hence extending the length of the season considerably.
There are about 45 calls scheduled this year. The longest vessel to arrive was Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ Bolette at 238m, on May 10.
The capabilities of the port are however much greater. Theoretically, it can accommodate up to 120 calls a year. All operations take place at the handling quays: Obroncow Westerplatte Quay, Oliwa Quay and WOC II Quay.
The development of cruise shipping is influenced both by the geopolitical situation in the region and the involvement of local authorities and tourist organisations. “We need to convince cruiseship operators that the Baltic Sea basin is a peaceful and safe region.
“We need to be active in such organisations as Cruise Baltic and Cruise Europe, where we can present our commercial offer at trade fairs for Europe or the United States,” says Michael Stupak, customer manager Port of Gdansk.
“In the light of the last trade fair in Miami, in which we participated, it is clear that what attracts shipping lines is the tourist offer of the port city. We want to show the potential of Gdansk and the whole of Pomorskie. We have a great opportunity to take over tourists previously sailing into the port of St Petersburg.”
The port focuses primarily on offering an attractive tariff by applying a progressive rate depending on the number of calls. “This allows cruiselines to cost-effectively plan the arrival of ships into the port,” says Stupak.
The destination is not only the city of Gdansk but the entire Pomorskie region, which has many attractions, ranging from the largest medieval castle in Malbork to a golf course just 30 minutes from the port.
(Gdansk, Poland, is ready to accept more calls – Cruise Europe)
