MSC Cruises urges Transnet to upgrade Durban terminal
November 17, 2009
By SAMANTHA ENSLIN-PAYNE
MSC Cruises has made a guarantee to Transnet that 150 000 passengers will embark and disembark at the Durban port this season in a bid to get the state-owned enterprise to invest in a cruise terminal.
Pierfrancesco Vago, the chief executive of MSC Cruises, said at the weekend: "We have given Transnet a written commitment on volumes for the next three years. Whether we meet the target or not we are committed to paying."
MSC Cruises pays R100 for each passenger embarking and disembarking at the harbour to port authorities, meaning that Transnet is guaranteed a minimum income of R15 million each year for the next three years.
Vago said the lack of a cruise terminal was a huge issue as a passenger's holiday experience began on arrival at the port. A passenger that began a cruise unhappy would invariably not enjoy the experience. "It's time now they upgraded the facilities," Vago said.
MSC Cruises' ship the Sinfonia, which has the capacity to carry 2 100 passengers, began its first five-month season in South Africa this weekend.
Alan Foggit, a director of Starlight Cruises, which is the South African sales agent for MSC Cruises, said the Sinfonia was expected to produce turnover of R220m in the current cruise season, generating R16m in commission for travel agents.
Currently passengers use N Shed at the Durban port, a partially converted warehouse. MSC Cruises has been operating in South African waters for several years, with the Rhapsody and Melody cruise liners.
Vago said a cruise terminal needed to be bigger than N Shed as 2 000 people disembarked after each cruise and a further 2 000 embarked, all in the space of a few hours. A cruise terminal should be like an airport, with proper customs facilities, seating, shops and other services, such as an airbridge connecting the quayside and the ship.
"We need the comfort of a terminal that could also generate revenue for Transnet."
Vago said MSC Cruises was tackling this issue with the authorities.
Transnet spokesman John Dludlu said the passenger terminal in Durban was always part of its capital investment programme to accommodate the growth in the cruise liner and tourism businesses.
"In partnership with our cruise liner clients, such as MSC and the city of Durban, we're in constant engagements around the design implications and planning for passenger traffic in and out of the port."
MSC Cruises has 10 ships in its stable and will launch its 11th vessel next year. It operates cruises in North America, South America, the Mediterranean, Europe and along the west coast of Africa and the east coast of southern Africa.
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