The cruise industry may continue to be plagued by pandemics and uncertainty for tomorrow, but the continued presence of a large cruise ship company in the Limassol Sea region has brought significant benefits to the Cypriot economy, while highlighting the services that Cyprus can offer. .
In a statement, the port manager of the port of Limassol, Panagiotis Agathokleous, said that since May 2020, 14 large cruise ships of a specific company, based in America, have been served for decommissioning purposes, while eight of them remain at the Monastery mooring today.
“These cruise ships provide significant financial benefits, in addition to the benefit of making Cyprus an important cruise ship service center, especially during the pandemic period,” he said.
At the moment, he continued, cruise ships carry a total of about 900 security personnel “who have needs from the local market, such as the supply of food, fuel, accessories and much more, from which both local actors, such as suppliers, the local market, transport and the agent himself, who made enormous efforts, in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Shipping and the Port Authority, to persuade the company to bring its ships to Cyprus “.
He noted that the company chose Cyprus, “because we took care, from the beginning of the pandemic, to serve a significant need of cruise ships, the change of crews.”
In particular, he added, Cyprus allowed the smooth change of crews, which arrived through the airports, at a time when other countries had banned it. This, he pointed out, was done with all the security measures and that is why there was no problem and he stressed that “this was also in our favor to highlight the role that Cyprus can play in these areas”.
Mr. Agathokleous expressed the hope that in the summer of 2021 they will be able to resume cruising, “without being sure that the situation with the pandemic will be such that the cruise sector can be reactivated, which has been most affected by the sea connections “.
Philenews / ΚΥΠΕ
