GPH NEWS
DISCOVER WHAT'S NEW AT OUR PORTS AND DESTINATIONS
A LETTER
FROM OUR CEO
A LETTER FORM OUR CEO
Dear industry partners,
Finally, the restart of the cruise industry is here. All around the world, cruise ships have started sailing and our ports have been welcoming guests. After a long pause, we are delighted to see strong demand in the industry. We believed that the industry would be back even stronger but increasing occupancy rates and demand for next year’s itineraries has everyone eyeing the cruise industry once again.
During this time, we have focused on investing in the future as always. In the Caribbean, Antigua Cruise Port has completed its marine works and the build of the new pier. With the aim of turning Antigua into a turnaround destination, we have completed a security building, area for buses and a connection bridge to the Heritage Quay Shopping Centre. Antigua Cruise Port can now welcome more than 15,000 passengers per day and the largest cruise ships in the world.
Meanwhile, at Nassau Cruise Port, repairs to infrastructure and the expansion of the piers continues with the goal of accommodating three Oasis-class vessels per day upon completion of the works by the end of 2021. The upland work is now starting too. Cruising, and for the first time, homeporting has started in Nassau with brands such as Royal Caribbean and Crystal Cruises. Additionally, thousands of Bahamians will have an opportunity to invest in the project through Bahamas Investment Fund (BIF) when we launch the highly-anticipated equity raise in October.
Some of our European ports have been hosting cruise ships on a weekly basis since last year. Valletta Cruise Port continues its successful operations as more cruise lines have also started making turnaround operations. Our Italian ports continue to welcome calls from MSC and Costa Cruises. Harmony of the Seas, one of the world’s largest cruise ships, will has started weekly sailings from Barcelona.
Recent news of our ports being nominated for several awards made us very proud: Antigua Cruise Port is running as the Port of the Year at the Sea trade Cruise Awards, our ports in Malta, Zadar, Malaga, and Barcelona have been nominated as Europe’s Best Cruise Terminal at the World Cruise Awards, whereas Nassau has been nominated as Caribbean’s Best Cruise Port at the World Travel Awards. This is a proof of our solid performance through strong focus on operational excellence, enhanced security practices and customer-oriented service.
After the completion of our loan agreement with the leading global investment firm Sixth Street Partners in July, we look forward to new opportunities to make other ports around the globe “ready for the future”. We want to invest and provide these cruise ports with the standard operating procedures of GPH to make them become more desirable to cruise ships and cruise guests and to improve the service level using our know-how and network.
It would not be an over statement to say that the cruise industry has been hit hardest during this crisis, but I am proud to say
that we have held firm and shown our resolve to come back even stronger. I look forward to seeing how much further we can go!
Sincerely,
H. EMRE SAYIN
CEO GLOBAL PORTS HOLDING PLC
BARCELONA CRUISE PORT
KICKS OFF
BARCELONA CRUISE PORT KICKS OFF THE RETURN OF CRUISE OPERATIONS WITH FULLY OCCUPIED WHARF TERMINALS
BARCELONA, SPAIN
Barcelona Cruise Port is proud to announce that as of May 2022 they will host Virgin Voyages as their homeport for their western Mediterranean itineraries. A big milestone achievement for the company after 2 years of hard work mediating with Virgin Voyages management and departments of Barcelona Port Authorities.
Needless to say, that during the months of inactivity Barcelona Cruise Port has been far from idle. They have taken advantage of this time to improve their terminals and develop their facilities to continue to deliver excellent service to cruise guests and cruise lines alike.
Barcelona Cruise Port accommodated the MSC Seashore during guest embarkation process whilst Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas was docked during a technical visit in preparation for her first guest operation since the outbreak. This is a sign of good things to come as many routine operations are expected in Barcelona during the final months of the 2021 and the return to normality in 2022. Javier Rodriguez, General Manager of Barcelona Cruise Port and GPH Director of West Med and Asia Regions said “Barcelona was one of the first cruise terminals in the world to achieve the WTTC Safe travels stamp by setting up all health protocols in our terminals. We are proud that all these protocols are working fine with the resumption of the activity and all stakeholders are satisfied with the service provided.”