What's New
- First Cruise Ship, MS Amadea, makes inaugural call in Halifax
- Halifax Chamber of Commerce Luncheon
- Smart Port Reefer Workshop
- Hapag Lloyd Top Carrier
- Press Releases from Previous Years
First Cruise Ship, MS Amadea, makes inaugural call in Halifax
Halifax, NS – April 14, 2008 – Today marks the start of the annual cruise season at the Port of Halifax, which is scheduled to run between April 14 and November 9 and is expected to bring 215,000 – 220,000 cruise passengers to Nova Scotia aboard 131 vessels. In 2008, the economic impact by cruise passengers and crew visiting Halifax is expected to reach an estimated $25 million.
The first ship of the season is the MS Amadea, a cruise ship chartered by a well-established German cruise line, Phoenix Reisen. This vessel has never previously called the Port of Halifax, which makes it one of ten cruise inaugurals scheduled during 2008.
This year the Port expects nearly 40,000 more cruise passengers than in 2007 to visit our region on ships calling the Port of Halifax. "We are pleased to mark the beginning of the 2008 cruise season and welcome the MS Amadea as it makes its inaugural call into the Port of Halifax," said Tourism, Culture and Heritage Minister Bill Dooks. "Our ports offer a variety of shore experiences and I'm certain the passengers of the MS Amadea will enjoy what Nova Scotia has to offer."
Homeporting, when a cruise ship begins or ends their itinerary in Halifax, is an industry niche that is growing at the Port of Halifax. Catherine McGrail, Manager of Cruise Development at the Port of Halifax says “the Port and our partners have been working hard to develop Halifax’s reputation as the premier port of call in Atlantic Canada.” McGrail added she is pleased to see the results of their efforts and reports that 12 homeporting calls are expected from cruise lines Hapag-Lloyd, Canadian Sailings Expeditions, Polar Stars Expeditions and Linblads Expeditions which will bring the National Geographic Explorer to the Port for the first time.
Other highlights of the 2008 cruise season include:
- Pavilion 22 Shops & Services at the Halifax Seaport are open on cruise ship days to the public and cruise passengers one half hour before the vessel docks until one half hour after the departure
- Ten new cruise ships will call Halifax this season: the Amadea, the Caledonia, the Pacific Venus, the Caribbean Princess, the HSH Prince Albert the Eurodam, the AIDAaura, the Royal Princess, the National Geographic Explorer and the Balmoral
- A total of 18 cruise lines are calling Halifax including four that are calling for the first time AIDA Cruises, Canadian Sailing Expeditions, Japan Cruise Lines, and Lindblad Expeditions
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Contact: Natalie Kenrick
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs
Tel: (902) 426-7375
Fax: (902) 426-6473
e-mail: nkenrick@portofhalifax.ca
The Halifax Port Authority is a government business enterprise mandated by the Federal Ministry of Transport. The HPA leads in the development of the Port of Halifax, serving as a catalyst for the local, regional and national economies and has a mandate to be financially viable. The Port of Halifax has a total annual income impact of almost $700 million and an employment impact of over 15,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs.
Halifax Chamber of Commerce Luncheon
State of the Port Address
On Wednesday April 2nd, 2008 Karen Oldfield, President and CEO of the Halifax Port Authority, spoke to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. The event was hosted in Heritage Hall at Pier 21. To download a copy of the speech - please click on the link below.
Smart Port Reefer Workshop
Halifax is well on its way to being the coolest port in Canada. The business development and customer relations department hosted a Smart Port Reefer workshop on January 31 at Pier 21, Heritage Hall to educate port stakeholders about the growth of temperature controlled cargo infrastructure and opportunities that the Port are developing.
The morning began with a welcome from Karen Oldfield, followed by presentations by representatives of CN Rail, Armour Transport and the Port of Halifax.
Patrick Bohan, speaking on behalf of the Port, opened up the dialogue by reminding the audience what a crucial part temperature controlled cargo plays for us to be able to consume the foreign products we all enjoy. Everything from fruits and vegetables to pharmaceuticals that are shipped into Halifax depend on a temperature controlled supply system.
Another benefit of dependable temperature controlled cargo for us in Atlantic Canada is our exporting industry. We have enormous amounts of resources which are valuable overseas, but we need reliable refrigerated cargo system to maintain this exporting service.
Peter Ladouceur from CN shared the railway's perspective on cool cargo, explaining that they're just as motivated as the Port to extend their temperature controlled cargo here in. Roger Sellick, from Armour Transport, told the audience about the ins and outs of shipping reefer by road on a transport truck.
After a quick coffee break, the Port welcomed Lou Smyrlis, editor of Canadian Transportation & Logistics magazine, who shared his thoughts on the topic. Lou then acted as moderator for a panel discussion. The panel included experts on the subject, including: Hayley Warner, Alliance World transport; Barry Smith, Nova Cold Storage; Robin Shaw, Kuehne & Nagel and Ches Carter representing the Halifax Port Authority.
The event was decidedly educational for everyone who was part of the workshop and discussion. With the positive feedback from the event the Business Development and Customer Relations department is anticipating similar events coming soon.
Hapag Lloyd Top Carrier
On January 31st in Montreal, the Halifax Port Authority, CN and Ceres gathered to present Hapag-Lloyd's Canadian managing director Mr. Holger Oetjen with a trophy recognizing Hapag-Lloyd as Top Volume Carrier of 2007.
Hapag-Lloyd participates in all six vessel calls at the Ceres container terminal. The company is the vessel provider on the Grand Alliance PAX and contributes vessels to the Grand Alliance AEX service. Hapag-Lloyd also has a reciprocal slot charter arrangement on the ACL vessels that call at Halifax.
The Hapag-Lloyd group focuses on global container liner shipping and is one of the leading asset-based logistics providers in the world. With the acquisition of CP Ships in 2005, the company became one of the top five global container lines. The Hamburg-based company is present in more than 100 countries and operates about 340 sales offices.
The company is owned by the Hanover-based TUI group and deploys 142 containerships with more than 496,000 TEU in carrying capacity across five regions worldwide: North Europe, South Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is also a top supplier of premium and luxury cruises in German-speaking countries.
