12.11.2019
Hamburg, 12 November 2019 – Cruise Gate Hamburg GmbH (CGH), operator of Hamburg’s three cruise terminals, has released the figures for the 2019 season. All in all, the season saw 210 calls, 42 different vessels from 18 shipping companies, 6 maiden calls, 2 christenings and some 810,000 passengers.
Sacha Rougier, Managing Director of CGH, “Ship calls are at a solid level though they do not quite reach the previous year’s record 212 calls and 900,000 passengers. Hamburg has enjoyed extraordinarily high growth rates over the past years - between 2015 and 2018 the cruise sector grew by a staggering 76%, which was way above the European average. It is unlikely that we will see similar rates in the future. Among others, this is due to shipping companies shifting their high-capacity vessels to the highly popular Baltic Sea in the coming years.”
The number of calls will remain stable in the 2020 season. According to the latest schedule, 210 cruise liners are expected to call at Hamburg.
Sustainable cruise shipping development: investments and projects
Hamburg’s foremost aim is to develop cruise shipping in the Hanseatic city in a sustainable manner. Hamburg’s government, the Senate, supports that aim having recently adopted a resolution to expand the city’s shore power infrastructure. The two terminals, Steinwerder and HafenCity, will each be equipped with an alternative marine power station. From 2023, ships will switch off their engines while at the berth and be able to rely on renewable power. “That will make Hamburg the first port in Europe to offer alternative energy at all cruise terminals. Emissions from ships docking at the port will then be substantially reduced,” explains Sacha Rougier. Hamburg thus continues to play a pioneering role as a sustainable cruise destination.
At the beginning of October, CGH in conjunction with the sustainability committee of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) as well as other ports and European cruise shipping associations initiated a sector-wide initiative to record emissions from cruise ships as part of the World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP). The initiative aims to quantify emissions using the same standard throughout the industry and encourage shipping companies to improve their environmental performance. Sacha Rougier, who also chairs the IAPH cruise committee, says, “The fact that 20 ports, five associations (IAPH, ESPO, Cruise Baltic, Cruise Europe and Cruise Norway) and countless industry partners have gathered around the table shows just how important sustainability is. We do not want to produce unspecific climate protection and clean air ideas, but firmly establish and implement concrete regulations and guidelines in a co-ordinated effort.”
Fresh impetus for the cruise industry in Hamburg: long-term agreements
To ensure a continuously stable and sustainable development in Hamburg, CGH increasingly bets on long-term agreements (LTA). LTAs benefit shipping companies in that they offer long-term perspectives when it comes to expanding their market in Hamburg. CGH has recently entered into an LTA with Costa Group; more LTAs with major customers are expected to follow.
About Cruise Gate Hamburg GmbH
Cruise Gate Hamburg GmbH is a subsidiary wholly owned by Hamburg Port Authority AöR. As the operator of Hamburg’s three cruise centres (Altona, HafenCity and Steinwerder) CGH is the single point of contact for all cruise liner companies. CGH strives to provide transparent “one-stop services to the cruise shipping industry” at all of Hamburg’s cruise terminals.
Press Contact:
Cruise Gate Hamburg
Kathrin Schweppe-May
Tel.: +49 (0) 40/42847 – 5083
Email: presse@cgh.hamburg.de
Please note: We provide images for editorial reporting within the context of our current news. You may use the photos free of charge under indication of the corresponding source
(MSC Grandiosa mit Elbphilharmonie/ Dr. Stefan Behn/HCN e.V.; MSC Grandiosa am Cruise Center Steinwerder/ CGH)
