Portimao Port Welcomes its Longest Ever Cruise Ship!
Portimao
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Sunday 7th October 2012 was a big day if you are a lover of big boats and happened to be at Portimão Port to witness the longest ever boat to grace the harbor with its presence.
The boat in question was the Balmoral Cruise Ship which has a monster length of 218.18 meters and weighs in at 43,637 tons. To get those numbers into perspective consider that the length of an international football pitch is 105 metres long, and so this boat is over two times the length of a football pitch!
In order to allow safe harbour for a boat as large as this you need a very serious amount of infrastructure to be in place, and the port authorities at Portimão Port have been working on just these issues for the last few years so that large cruise ships like the Balmoral can dock in the port and bring all the related economic benefits that a boat which can house 1350 passengers and 510 crew can bring.
The boat itself is the newest boat in the fleet of Fred Olsen Cruises who are a cruise ship company who are based out of the UK. The boat has been fitted out with a whole host of the amenities that you would expect in a modern cruise ship, and many that you wouldn't. It includes a British Pub where you can relax and have a pint as well as a cabaret, daily shows and performances, as well as the spectacular views that greet you if you choose to spend your time calmly relaxing in some of the sea view lounges that provide such wonderful views as you cruise along in relaxation.
The boat also has a number of top quality restaurants such as the Ballindalloch, Spey and Avon which specialize in bringing you great cuisine and a home away from home atmosphere.
Some of the work that needed to be done to the port included constructing a new passenger terminal with increased capacity and extra facilities, improved infrastructure around the port area itself to allow for greater access to the port, and a better support system for the cruise ships themselves so that the companies who chose to dock at the new port can feel safe and secure in the knowledge that the needs of their staff would be properly taken care of.
This is however very far from the end of the story when it comes to the improvements that are planned for the port. In May 2012, members of the Economy and Public Works committee made a visit to the port both to assess the progress that had been made and also to reach conclusions about its logical future development plans and how its use could be maximized both for the local community and for the benefit of the economy.
Within this remit they also looked at the investment that would be needed to make many of these plans a reality and the best way to approach the work. The underlying goal of the whole discussion was to find ways to ensure that Portimão Port remains as the premier gateway to the Algarve in the south of the country.
All parties, including representatives from the Port and Maritime Transport Unit as well as Portimão Camara, acknowledged the need to keep the port at the leading edge of ports in Europe and maintain its position.
This latest visit by the Balmoral underlines the importance to the economic future of the region of an ability to properly service cruise ships. However, no firm funding decisions for Portimão Port have yet been forthcoming from the government since the visit in May.
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Published in: Guide to Portugal / Travel