Page 13 - CIN 2019 European Report

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LIVORNO Livorno is a perfect fit for those small vessels, he continued,
as the port’s small ship cruise berth is located within walking
Luxury Ships distance to the downtown area and the iconic Old Fortress.
and Megaships
“For the megaships we offer three dedicated priority berths
Growth is on the agenda in and one terminal used mainly for partial turnarounds which
Livorno, with luxury traffic up and takes advantage of the proximity to Pisa International Airport,”
big plans for more berths. Spadoni said.

PORT officials will be plenty busy in Livorno this year, manag- The port presents itself as the gateway to Tuscany, and a short
ing 362 cruise calls and 730,000 cruise passengers, with an distance to Pisa, Lucca, Firenze and Siena.
additional 20,000 passengers expected in 2019.
A privatization of the port is also now complete, with MSC
“Livorno is more involved in luxury cruise traffic,” said as one of the new owners.
Giovanni Spadoni, technical and commercial director. “All the
major luxury brands are calling at Livorno and many are staying In addition to three-big ship berths, the port can accommodate
overnight.” up to five smaller ships at once, and follows MedCruise’s stan-
dardized berth reservation process.

“We have commercial agreements with the major cruise lines
which provide preferentiality for long term volume agreements,”
Spadoni added.

Big plans are underway, led by a 90 million euro investment
to add four dedicated megaship berths and new terminals. The
water depth around the port was also recently dredged to 15
meters, and the access channel was widened to accommodate
larger cruise ships.

Pierside, the port can offer shorepower, and has been approved
for a LNG terminal, Spadoni said, which would allow it to sup-
ply the next generation of LNG-powered cruise vessels.

“We are very confident that the growth of our port and its
infrastructure will match with the cruise sector capacity growth,”
he continued. “As with all the Mediterranean ports, the hope is
that in a reasonable time period the geopolitical situation and
the peace process will also improve in the South and East
Mediterranean regions.” ¾

TARANTO A MAJOR cargo port in southern Italy has its eyes on the cruise
industry as Taranto is welcoming more cruise calls on a yearly
‘New Place to basis.
Visit’
Cristina Carriere, head of promotion for the port, said the
Taranto is eyeing building its progress really started in 2017. The first cruise line to call was
cruise business and has attracted Marella, which will be back this year for seven calls along with
calls from Marella and others. ships from Saga and New Caledonia. For 2019, Carriere said
Marella has already booked berth space for two of its vessels.

“We would like to attract more luxury ships,” said Carriere.
“Taranto is great for passengers who are looking for a new place
to visit.”

Located near Matera in Italy, the city offers various heritage
sites as well as a national archaeological museum, and beaches.
Matera is scheduled to be Europe’s Capital of Culture and is
around an hour drive from the port.

The port in Taranto can host ships of any size, Carriere ex-
plained, and is close to two international airports, giving it the
possibility to be in the discussion for homeporting options.

“Taranto is not like Venice or Genoa … we want to offer
something less mainstream, as an alternative experience,” she
added. ¾

Cruise Industry News: 2019 European Regional Report 103