Cruise Navigation 2018 in the Passenger Port of Saint-Petersburg declared open
27 April 2018
Today, April 27, at 6.30 a.m., the first cruise liner of the Norwegian Viking Sea with 889 passengers on board arrived in the Passenger Port of Saint-Petersburg, which marked the opening of the cruise season of 2018.
The solemn opening ceremony of navigation in the Passenger Port is a recent tradition that already has become an important part of the Port’s life. A snow-white liner appearing on the horizon arrived to the sound of the brass band of cadets of the State University of Marine and River Fleet named after Admiral S.O. Makarov.
Upon arrival, all passengers received a tourist brochure about Saint Petersburg provided by the Saint Petersburg City Tourist and Information Office and souvenirs from the Passenger Port.
Welcoming speeches at the opening ceremony were presented by A.N. Golovin, a Member of the Saint Petersburg Government – the Chairman of the Transport Committee, and, surely, by V.A. Kashirin, the General Director of Passenger Port of Saint-Petersburg, JSC. A.N. Golovin marked the opening of the cruise season by a symbolic watch bell clam. The guests of honor who attended the ceremony included N.M. Gvichiya, the Deputy Chairman Committee for Tourism Development in Saint Petersburg; S.O. Baryshnikov, the President of the State University of Marine and River Fleet named after Admiral S.O. Makarov; P.P. Parinov, the Head of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Administration of Sea Ports of the Baltic Sea”; I.A. Ishchenko, the Captain of the sea port “ Passenger Port of Saint-Petersburg”; S.B. Senko, the Head of Baltic Customs of the North-Western Customs Administration; A.N. Bnatov, the General Director of “Magistral Severnoy Stolitsy”, LLC; V.B. Fridman, the General Director of the “Mir” tourist company; G.V. Mikhaylov, the General Director of Inflot Worldwides Rus, LLC.
At the end of the official part of the event, the guests of honor, together with media representatives, make a visit aboard the Viking Sea cruise liner. The visitors were welcomed by the ship’s captain Hilden Alf Mikael, who provided them them with the opportunity to enjoy the unique view of the sea capital from the water area.
In 2018, 8 ships will call for the first time the Passenger Port of Saint-Petersburg, including the largest cruise ship MSC Preziosa owned by the major cruise company MSC Cruises S.A., 333 meters in length, which will arrive on May 3 with more than 4,000 passengers on board.
In total, during the 2018 navigation season which will last until mid-October, the port shall welcome 263 ships and more than 599,000 passengers, which is a record for its entire history. The expansion projected against 2017 includes the growth of ship calls, by 6 %; that of passenger traffic, by 7%.
