Press Releases

Cargo handling in the Port of Kiel increased by 13.4% in the first half of the year to 2.7 million tons. The Ostuferhafen handled more cargo than any other part of the port and posted its best results since going into operation 25 years ago. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG) said “every second ton of freight moving through Kiel is currently handled in the Ostuferhafen. The capacity utilisation of the Ostuferhafen has in the meantime risen to more than 80%, which underscores the need to expand capacity there medium term in the direction of the former Ortopedia site”. Instrumental in the harbour’s growth have been the ferry services to and from the Baltic, Russia and Scandinavia as well as container transport, which began just last year.

The opening event of this year’s national Day of Architecture in Germany is being held in Kiel - at the port’s new Schwedenkai Terminal. “We are proud that the Schwedenkai has been selected for this honour” said Dr. Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG). “It is a splendid acknowledgement of the joint efforts of all those people and firms involved in the construction of this terminal”. The new terminal building, which will be completed shortly, was commissioned by the Port of Kiel on designs submitted by architects KSP Jürgen Engel. A landing point for ferry and cruise ships, it embodies the motto of this year’s Day of Architecture – “Horizons”.

The first call today of the “AIDAcara” in Kiel means the port is once again one of the base ports of AIDA Cruises. “We are the start and end port for cruises: all the big German cruise shipping concerns now back Kiel”, said Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co KG). The “AIDAcara” was welcomed in the early hours this morning in the traditional way with water fountains from the fire-fighting ship “Kiel” and then escorted to the Ostseekai Cruise Terminal. At an on-board reception afterwards marking the ship’s first call, Kiel Lord Mayor Torsten Albig presented a plaque to Captain Sven Gärtner and welcomed passengers and crew. “Today is a special day for Kiel”, he said. “The AIDA Cruises smile logo is once again a regular sight to admire in the port and on the fiord.”

As this year’s cruise shipping season draws to a close, Dirk Claus, the Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG), reported that it has been a positive one. The season ends on Monday September 21st with the visit of “Marco Polo”. Dirk Claus said at the Seatrade Europe Trade Fair in Hamburg that “this year Kiel has been visited by many especially big cruise ships. We were able to well exceed our passenger target of 250,000 passengers”. During the season, 21 different cruise ships called a total of 117 times and more than 290,000 passengers boarded or left a cruise ship in Kiel, compared to 222,000 in 2008. The biggest ship to call this season was the 102,600 GT “Costa Magica”, followed by the 92,400 GT “MSC Orchestra” and the 86,000 GT “Eurodam”.

Trond Kleivdal, the President and CEO of Norway’s biggest ferry shipping company, Color Line AS, was this evening awarded the annual Port of Kiel Prize during celebrations marking the port’s 27th traditional annual “Sprottenback”. In a congratulatory address the Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co KG) Dirk Claus praised Kleivdal as an outstanding personality who had made a major contribution to the introduction and success of the cruise ferries “Color Fantasy” and “Color Magic” and had set new standards with his strategy of quality cruise shipping between Kiel and Oslo. The company’s vessels, which are the biggest cruise ships in the world with car decks, have played a major role in the development of the Port of Kiel since they went into service in December 2004 and September 2007. Last year more than a million passengers were carried on the route between Kiel and the Norwegian capital.

The Port of Kiel handled 2.36 million tons of cargo in the first half of this year, 5% less than in the same period of 2008. Above-average decline was recorded in the breakbulk sector, which was comparatively hard hit by the current economic crisis. Against this background the positive handling trend in ferry traffic since the second quarter has been particularly pleasing. In June breakbulk handling also reached the level of the previous month. Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co KG), said “in the wake of a weak first quarter, one main contributor to handling which is now again showing a positive trend was our entry into the container handling sector. Given the general economic situation, we can be satisfied with this handling result”.

For the first time ever, two big cruise ships of the respected Holland America Line (HAL) have called at the Port of Kiel together. About 3,500 mainly American passengers used the visit, on Thursday June 11th, for day excursions, most of them in the state of Schleswig-Holstein or to Hamburg. “Kiel is known mainly as a port where cruise ships switch passengers, but it is now also gaining in importance as a tourist destination”. Transit guests currently account for about 15% of all cruise passengers in the port and that figure is expected to rise. “So I am delighted that we have succeeded, thanks to the good co-operation with the firm of Sartori & Berger, in attracting the Holland America Line to Kiel”, Claus added.

The four biggest cruise ships ever to berth in the Port of Kiel are expected to call this week. The new TUI Cruises liner “Mein Schiff” started it all off on Monday May 18th. “MSC Orchestra” was expected at the Ostseekai Cruise Terminal on Wednesday, “Costa Magica” on Thursday and “Eurodam” on Friday. Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG) said “the new Ostseekai is one of the most efficient cruise shipping terminals in northern Europe. State-of-the-art terminal infrastructure and service courtesy are the foundations on which our first-class ship handling is built. This is what makes Kiel currently the most popular cruise shipping port on the German coast.

The brand-new “LISCO MAXIMA”, the biggest ferry to sail under the flag of Lithuania, was given an official welcome Tuesday to mark her first call in Kiel’s Ostuferhafen. The ship will from now on be employed in the regular liner shipping service between Kiel and Klaipeda. She replaced the older, somewhat smaller, “LISCO OPTIMA” on the same route. Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co KG), welcomed the vessel on behalf of the port and handed over the traditional first-call commemoration plaque to her captain.

The Port of Kiel is on display at eastern Europe’s leading transport trade fair “TransRussia”, between April 21st and 24th in Moscow. Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG) said “Eastern Europe is of decisive importance for our Ostuferhafen commercial cargo hub. As well as helping to nurture our existing contacts, Moscow is all about assessing future market development more effectively”. At the trade fair the Port of Kiel will, for the first time, demonstrate the capabilities of its brand-new mobile port crane, which will soon go into operation in the Ostuferhafen. As well as containers, all kinds of heavy and project load cargo can now be handled there.

The 2009 cruise shipping season opens in Kiel on April 22nd. The first cruise ship to arrive on the Kiel Fiord this year, the brand-new “AIDAluna”, will be met with a traditional water fountain display from the fire-fighting vessel “Kiel” and escorted to her berth at the Ostseekai. From now until the end of September, 117 cruise ship calls have been registered in Kiel by 20 different cruise ships. Up to a quarter of a million travellers are expected. The Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co KG) Dirk Claus said “the tonnage of the ships calling at Kiel this year will be nearly 40% greater than in the past. We are well prepared for this and have again expanded our handling capacities at the Ostseekai”.

For the second year running, the Port of Kiel has been honoured at the Cruise Shipping Convention in Miami - the world’s largest cruise shipping trade fair - by the trade publication “Dream World Cruise Destinations”. This year Kiel was selected from 231 ports to receive the award in the category “Best Turnaround Port Operations”. Also so honoured were Barcelona, Southampton and Sydney. Last year, Kiel won first prize in the category “Most Improved Terminal Facilities” for its new Ostseekai Terminal.

This year’s cruise shipping season in the Port of Kiel ends on Sunday (September 21^st) when the last ship of the season, Phoenix Reisen’s “Alexander von Humboldt”, leaves the Norwegenkai at about 1700 for the Norwegian fiords. During this year’s summer season, Kiel has been visited 126 times (114 times in 2007) by 23 different cruise ships. More than 220,000 passengers have arrived at or left a cruise ship at the city’s terminals. The Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH and Co KG), Dirk Claus, said “we can look back on the most successful cruise shipping season ever in the Port of Kiel. For the first time, more than 200,000 passengers were handled and even our own ambitious expectations were exceeded”.

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