Cunard Line Queen Victoria berths at Cobh. Pics Here!

25th July 2010

More shipping history was made in Cork harbour to-day, July 24th, when the Cunard Line Queen Victoria berthed at the deepwater quay Cobh for her maiden visit to the Port of Cork writes Claire Bateman. This magnificent liner was built in 2007 and her gross tonnage is 90,000. She carries 2000 passengers and a crew of 1001. To mark the occasion the Port of Cork invited guests to attend a special mid morning Luisitania Memorial Service led by Captain Paul Wright of the M.V. Queen Victoria.

As ever with the long and warm relationship between Cunard Line and Cobh the Cunard liners receive a special welcome from the people of Cobh and the surrounding areas of Cork and County with huge numbers gathering to greet and admire these magnificent vessels.

Along with the many other visits of cruise liners to the Port of Cork and the excellent deepwater berthing facilities that accomodate the largest liners in the world, the importance to the local economy cannot be over estimated and the good news is that these visits are increasing each year and hopefully these can be maintained and increased with the ever increasing popularity of the concept of cruising .

It was quite an evening as the M.V. Queen Victoria made a magnificent sight edging her way out of her berth and made her way past the Spit Lighthouse and on to Roches Point where she bade farewell to Cork Harbour bathed in the late evening sunlight and, as with the departure of all such beautiful ships, one is always left with an unexplained feeling of loneliness as they disappear over the horizon and on to their next port of call.

The latest Cunard build, the Queen Elizabeth GT 90,000 is due for completion in 2010 and hopefully this will continue the Cunard association with the Port of Cork that began in 1859.

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Published in Cork Harbour

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