In an agreement by the Port of Cork company has been made to the temporary suspension of operations with Cruise Lines as a result of the escalating global COVID-19 outbreak.

Cruise liners that were due to berth (Cork Harbour) between now and April 20th have been cancelled. Cruise operations in the following months are now in question.

The Port has welcomed clarity from the cruise lines in relation to the cancellations, with these decisions being taken in the best interests of public safety.

CEO of the Port of Cork, Brendan Keating says; “We are obviously disappointed that this year’s cruise season has been impacted by COVID-19, but we fully respect the decision of the cruise companies to cancel these calls in the interests of public health. There will be a significant impact on the local community through loss of business, and we fully support Government initiatives to help those businesses trade through difficult times.”

Freight operations are continuing, and the Port expects to accommodate all scheduled vessels in the weeks ahead.

Staff members and visitors at the Port are adopting best practice in terms of social distancing, and as a precaution, inbound ships are subject to strict new guidelines as outlined in a notice to mariners.

The schedule of freight arrivals at the Port of Cork is unaffected by the COVID-19 outbreak. These inbound vessels will carry a range of goods including standard containers, fertiliser, crude oil, and animal feed.

#cruiseliners - A total 285,000 visitors on board 151 cruise ships are due to call at Belfast Harbour this year, an increase of 31% on the 115 visits during the 2018 cruise season.

The figures were announced by Cruise Belfast, the partnership between Belfast Harbour and Visit Belfast.

According to Cruise Belfast, July will be the busiest month with 32 ships scheduled to call among them SAGA’s first ever newbuild vessel Spirit of Discovery. Other first time callers to Belfast this year include Disney Magic and Cruise & Maritime Voyages which acquired a ship and renamed Vasco da Gama.

In total 35 separate cruise lines will call at Belfast, the most frequent being CMV with 15 calls scheduled and Princess Cruises set at 13 calls. 

The Italian-based Costa Line will also call at Belfast for the first time while the number of calls from Celebrity will double to eight. Norwegian Cruise Line is expanding its visits from one in 2018 to eleven calls as part of its strategic growth plans for the northern European market.