Record breaking cruise season
A RECORD breaking cruise ship season that will see more than 50,000 passengers visit Shetland this summer begins this weekend.
The Astoria will dock in Lerwick harbour on Sunday while en route to Faroe to begin around six months of cruise ship visits.
A new record of nearly 54,000 passengers are expected to visit the isles during the season, up from the record breaking 43,273 in 2014. Lerwick harbour will host 78 liners, an increase of 26 from the previous record in 2012.
The largest cruise ship ever to visit the isles, the 122,210 gross tonne Celebrity Silhouette, is scheduled to dock on 14 August.
The previous record was set by Costa Pacifica in June 2011 with a weight of 114,288 gross tonnes.
The cumulative weight this year will be 2,212,023 gross tonnes, up from the record of 1,684,699 gross tonnes set in 2014.
The season ends on 6 October with Marco Polo, with June and July the busiest months having 18 and 23 visits planned respectively.
Lerwick Port Authority’s senior commercial executive Victor Sandison said the “exciting” figures highlight the town’s contribution to the Scottish cruise industry and the Shetland economy.
“The completion of the new Holmsgarth north jetty this autumn will provide further berthing facilities for cruise ships from 2017 onwards,” he said.
“The outlook is very positive for next season, with 54 ships already booked – promising record tonnage and over 52,000 passengers – with more to come. This early, there are also 13 bookings for 2018.”
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