New records and a £20m boost to the Highland economy on the horizon as Port of Cromarty Firth prepares for latest cruise liner season
The Port of Cromarty Firth (PoCF), in the Scottish Highlands, is preparing to welcome record numbers of passengers and ships during the 2023 cruise liner season, which will get under way at the start of next month (April). (more…)
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More than 120 representatives of business, local decision-makers and tourism providers gathered at Stornoway’s Lews Castle in mid December, to discuss the ‘transformative change’ expected from the significant cruise growth expected, starting this year. 
Vasco da Gama, operated by German company Nicko Cruises, arrived in the City of Discovery in the early hours of Sunday morning, after leaving Aberdeen.
Stornoway’s Deep Water Terminal will be ready to offer a new gateway to the Outer Hebrides ahead of the 2024 season. 
It may have been the fourth attempt to hold the in-person Cruise Europe Conference in UNESCO Edinburgh but, perseverance paid off and the wait was worth it.
Scrabster Harbour officially opened the redeveloped St Ola Pier on December 9 2021. The redeveloped pier structure, at the Caithness port, offers a total of 500m of deepwater berthing, with a new 250m outer berthing face capable of accommodating larger vessels.
The rebuilding of Lerwick Harbour’s important cruise traffic in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions will potentially receive extra impetus next month with the earliest start yet to the annual season.
The cruise ship “Island Sky” has recorded an unexpected double – first and final into Lerwick Harbour, Shetland – during a season shortened by the Covid-19 pandemic. 
On June 8 2021, HRH Princess Anne visited the Port of Cromarty Firth where she officially named a new £50 million (€58.5 million) expansion as Quay West. 


