The Port of Palma’s Poniente Quay extension for large cruise vessels comes into service
16/04/2013
This week, the extension of the Port of Palma’s Poniente Quays is due to come into service in response to the heavy demand for berths in the Mediterranean which can cater for large cruise vessels. The extension work was handed over yesterday, 15th April, and on Thursday 18th, the 292-metre long Costa Deliziosa, which has a capacity of 2,800 passengers, will be the first vessel to dock at the new facilities.
The extension work on the Poniente Quays to add four new berthing lines of over 300 metres in length was started up in 2011 by the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) in response to the interest of the main shipping lines in including Palma as a port of call on their routes. Two years later, these new facilities are about to come into service to complement the existing quays, and thus enable up to seven cruise vessels over 300 metres long to berth simultaneously at the Port of Palma.
The Port of Palma is the second largest Spanish port in terms of number of cruise passengers, the fourth in the Mediterranean and twelfth in the world.
Reception of the extension work
Yesterday, a ceremony to hand over the extension work took place which was attended by the Development Ministry inspector, the Port Authority Chairman, José Mª Urrutia, and representatives of the CYES-SATO-OHL consortium. The total cost of the work on the new facility, which consisted of extending the Poniente Quays to create two new 30-metre wide berthing lines of approximately 360 metres in length, was €37.8 million.
N.B.: The Costa Deliziosa is scheduled to call at the Port of Palma on 18th April from 7:00 to 14:00 and will berth on the North Poniente Quay’s second face. Any media that wish to take photos of the cruise vessel should contact the APB’s Press Office via the standard procedure for access to the Port of Palma. The APB shall not be held responsible for any changes in the call timetable.
