January 16, 2020 -The PORT OF KIEL achieved good results in all business areas last year. The number of passengers in particular rose to 2,4 million travelers. The cruise business in particular contributed to the growth. In 2019, a total of 175 cruise ship calls were counted, and a total of 803.000 passengers embarked and disembarked.
The management of the port of Kiel is very satisfied with the passenger numbers for the 2019 season: "The port of Kiel was able to continue to grow in its core business areas, ferry traffic and the cruise sector," said Dr. Dirk Claus, Managing Director of SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG, in a nutshell. The company is also satisfied with the freight sector and the bulk handling.
As for the cruise business: Kiel recorded 175 calls by 32 different cruise ships in the past year. The total tonnage was over 15 million GT. 803.000 cruise passengers embarked or disembarked. For the 2020 season, 198 calls by 36 ships have been reported so far. Thanks to the increased number of attempts, the number of passengers is increasing. It will be 880.000 (plus 10 percent). Ships of the shipping companies AIDA, Costa, TUI Cruises and MSC most often call at Kiel.
Mein Schiff 1, Port of Kiel - Terminal Ostseekai
This year the English "Marella Explorer 2" (Mein Schiff 1 "old") and the expedition cruise ship from Nicko Cruises, the "World Voyager“Flag in the port of Kiel for the first time. As in the previous year, the largest ship is the MSC Meraviglia, which is 316 meters long and measured at 171.598 GT. Kiel's cruise season begins on March 27th with the visit of the “Viking Star”. The season ends with an Advent cruise on the “Albatros” from Phoenix Seereisen on December 21st.
MSC Meraviglia leaves Barcelona
The port administration assumes that the 3.700 square meter new building at Ostseekai will be completed on schedule in spring 2020. In addition, shore power systems on the Baltic Sea and Schwedenkai will go into operation this year. The goal is to supply 60 to 70 cruise calls with shore power in the first full year of operation. The plan is to cover 60 percent of the energy requirements of ships calling at Kiel with shore power from renewable sources.
