Ostseekai Terminal News

The visit of the cruise ship AIDAprima on Saturday, October 12, marked the end of the oceangoing cruise season in Kiel, and what a season it was with ship visits and passenger numbers up over 2018.In total the port was visited 174 times (2018: 169) by 32 different cruise ships with a total tonnage of 15 million GT (2018: 11.5). For the first time the port exceeded the 800,000 cruise passenger threshold (embarked or left a ship at the terminals) in Kiel (+ 33.6 %). The cruise and…

The latest newbuilding of Holland America Line’s fleet (HAL) “Nieuw Statendam” arrived in the Port of Kiel from Stockholm for its maiden call in the last week, on Thursday morning (23rd May).During the on-board reception, the Managing Director of the Port of Kiel , Dr Dirk Claus, welcomed the ship’s Captain to the State Capital City of Schleswig Holstein and presented him with the handmade plaque for the vessel’s maiden call manufactured by the metal artist Patrick Schloßer.Dirk Claus said: “Kiel has been an integral part of Holland America Line’s itineraries for the eleventh year in a row now. We are very proud that Kiel belongs to the ports where the latest newbuilding of the shipping company is showcased.”In addition to the vessel “Nieuw Statendam”…

The call by AIDAcara on Sunday, April 7, marks the beginning of cruise season 2019 in the port of Kiel.Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director at Port of Kiel (Seehafen Kiel GmbH & Co. KG) said: “The upcoming cruise season will be very exciting and we will welcome a lot of new ships to Kiel. The second and new terminal building at the Ostseekai is presently under construction and we are working on the implementation of the onshore power project.”The port is currently investing about 30 million Euros in the cruise sector. Half of this amount is dedicated to sustainability measures. To that effect, the construction of the commercial port’s first onshore power supply plant at the Norwegenkai Terminal is on the finishing straight.

The economic importance of nautical tourism for Schleswig-Holstein is continuing to increase. More than 2.2 million passengers are expected in the port of Kiel alone this year, forecasting record numbers like 600,000 cruise passengers and 1.6 million ferry travelers.Last year, passengers generated a turnover of about 68 million Euros in Kiel. The consumer spending of the port’s ferry passengers amounts to more than 53 million Euros. These are complemented by another 15 million Euros spent by cruise passengers and the crews.

On Sunday October 28th with the visit of the “AIDAbella” Port of Kiel closed its latest cruise shipping season.This year the port has been visited 166 times by 33 different cruise ships with a combined gross tonnage of more than 11 million. For the first time close to 600,000 cruise ship passengers, 16.4% more than last year, have passed through the port’s terminal facilities to end or embark on cruises.Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel(Seehafen Kiel GmbH & Co. KG) said: “We have posted a good result and continue to invest in the expansion of our infrastructures for passenger and baggage handling as well as in the…

Germany's Port of Kiel says goodbye to the  Italian cruise shipping company Costa Crociere cruise vessel Costa Pacifica for this year’s season on Sunday (September 02).To mark the over 40 years of partnership between the shipping company, the city and the port, Hans-Werner Tovar, City President, Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director Port of Kiel, Captain Paolo Viscafè and Dr Jörg Rudolph, General Manager Costa Germany, unveiled a bronze plate on Kiel’s Walk of Cruise Ships at the Ostseekai Terminal.City President Tovar: “With this plate on the Walk of Cruise Ships, we commemorate the particular importance of Costa Crociere for Kiel as a cruise location. For more than 40 years the ships of Costa have been calling at our port.

The youngest ship in the fleet of TUI Cruises - “Mein Schiff 1” - has arrived in Kiel on her first visit. Kiel is the first German passenger seaport in which the new vessel has introduced herself, just a few days after she was handed over to her owners following completion in Turku, Finland. The new cruise ship, which is of more than 111,500 GT and 315 m long, arrived in the Kiel Fiord early on Thursday morning, April 27th, and was welcomed with a water fountain tribute from one of the port’s tugs and escorted to her berth. Crowds of onlookers lined the banks of the fiord and came to the Ostseekai Cruise Terminal to catch a glimpse of the brand new “Mein Schiff 1”.

A second handling centre for cruise ship passengers and their luggage is being built at Kiel’s Ostseekai Cruise Shipping Terminal. Artist’s impressions of how the new building will look when complete have been made public for the first time at the ITB Berlin – the world’s leading trade fair for the travel industry. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel said:  “Sea tourism is a strong growth market sector for the port of Kiel. In particular, the second terminal makes it possible to balance out individual operational processes. Whereas previously two ships were handled by just one terminal at the Ostseekai Terminal, in future every ship will have its own handling terminal.

A modern ship waste-water reception facility went into operation at Kiel’s Ostseekai on June 14. During an inauguration ceremony the new plant’s valves were symbolically opened by Kiel’s Lord Mayor Dr. Ulf Kämpfer, Construction chief Doris Grondke, the head of the Water Management and Marine and Coastal Protection Department in the Schleswig-Holstein Environment Ministry Dietmar Wienholdt, Port chief Dr. Dirk Claus and Captain Kjell Holm of TUI Cruises. The new facility, which cost well over €1.8 million…

The latest newbuilding to join TUI Cruises, Mein Schiff 6, has berthed in Kiel for the first time. Kiel is the ship’s first passenger port of call in Germany she has visited since she was handed over a few days ago in Turku, Finland. The 99,000 GT, 295 m long cruise ship arrived in the Kiel fiord on Thursday, May 11 to a water fountain welcome and was escorted to her berth by one of the port’s tugs. Onlookers lined the banks and visited the Ostseekai Terminal to catch a glimpse of Mein Schiff 6.

This year’s cruise shipping season ended in Kiel on Saturday (October 8th) with a call by the “AIDAvita”. Overall, the port of Kiel was visited 147 times this year by 26 different cruise ships of more than 9.3 million GT, compared to 133 cruise ship visits in 2015. That was an increase in tonnage of 8.1 % over last year. More than 485,000 passengers boarded or disembarked at the port’s various terminals – 5.8 % more than in 2015. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the PORT OF KIEL (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG) said: “We can look back on Kiel’s best cruise shipping season to date.

The brand-new TUI Cruises newbuilding Mein Schiff 5 has arrived in Kiel – her first German port of call since being handed over in Turku, Finland, a few days ago. The 99,500GT, 295-meter-long cruise ship sailed into the Kiel Fiord early this morning, escorted by a Kiel tug and to a water fountain welcome. Thousands of visitors to the Kieler Woche sailing regatta watched from the shore as the Mein Schiff 5 berthed at the Ostseekai Cruise Terminal. At the traditional onboard reception afterwards…

P&O Cruises’ Arcadia berthed June 22, for her first visit ever to the Port of Kiel, arriving just as the prestigious Kieler Woche sailing regatta marked its half-way point. More than 2,000, mainly British, passengers used the opportunity to visit northern Europe’s biggest maritime sailing event. Following her early morning arrival and to mark the occasion, a port tug provided “Arcadia” with a water fountain escort to her berth at the Ostseekai Cruise Terminal. During a reception later on board…

The cruise shipping season got underway in the Port of Kiel in the early hours of today with the arrival of the season’s first ship AIDAluna at the Ostseekai Terminal. The cruise ship is coming in after from a transfer trip from the Caribbean and will be based in Kiel – as will the AIDAvita and the AIDAlaura - for the whole of the summer season. During an on-board reception, Captain Marc-Dominique Tidow, representing the ship, its passengers and crew, was given a cordial welcome to Kiel by PORT OF KIEL Managing Director Dr. Dirk Claus.

Press release- This year’s cruise shipping season in Kiel was ending on Tuesday October 20th with a visit by the “AIDAcara”. Overall the port registered 133 calls this year by 25 different ships with a total tonnage of more than 8.6 million GT (an increase of 19.4% over last year). The port’s cruise terminals saw 458,771 passengers (29.6% more than in 2014) board or leave a cruise ship. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the PORT OF KIEL (Seehafen Kiel GmbH & Co. KG) said: “Both passenger figures and overall tonnage totals have set new records for Kiel”.

Kiel’s 2015 cruise shipping season gets under way on Easter Saturday, April 4th. That’s when the first ocean-going cruise ship of the year, “AIDAcara”, ties up at the Ostseekai Terminal after calling at Lisbon, Le Havre and Dover. During the coming season Kiel expects a total of 127 calls by 23 different luxury cruise liners, many of them very big ships of more than 250 m in length. The Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG) Dr. Dirk Claus said: “The trend towards ever bigger cruise ships continues.

The Port of Kiel can post positive results for 2014. Both cargo handling and passenger totals continued to rise. The port turned over 6.43 million tons of cargo, 1.6 % more than in the previous year. Stena Line’s Kiel-Gothenburg route recorded the biggest increase in general cargo handling while Color Line’s Kiel-Oslo service posted the strongest growth in passenger transport. During the year a total of 1.98 million passengers started or ended a ferry or cruise ship journey in Kiel - an increase of 1.9 %. Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co.

This year’s cruise shipping season in Kiel closes on the evening of October 18 when the AIDAcara sets sail for the Canary Islands. Dr. Dirk Claus, the Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co KG), said, “We can look back on a season full of highlights and one which has also been marked by the inauguration of our fifth terminal berth for cruise ships.” The new passenger pavilion at the Berth 1 cruise shipping facility in the Ostuferhafen was officially inaugurated at the start of June when the 114,000 GT, 290 m long Costa Pacifica berthed there.

“AIDAcara” is first to call at the Ostseekai Terminal. The 2013 cruise shipping year opened in Kiel on April 13 when the first ship of the season, AIDAcara, arrived at the Ostseekai from Dover. She berthed at around 0900 at the cruise shipping terminal after earlier being treated to a water fountain display from an SFK tug when she left the Kiel Canal. Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel said, “We are well prepared for the cruise shipping season. Everything is ready at Kiel’s cruise shipping terminal.” A total of 128 calls by 21 different ships have been registered this season.

Visual presentation of Cruise Shipping Berth 1 project - PORT OF KIEL at Cruise Shipping in Miami. Kiel’s plan to create a big berth facility for cruise ships is steadily taking on more shape. For the first time, the PORT OF KIEL is presenting a visual display of the new Ostuferhafen Cruise Shipping Berth 1 project to an international audience at the upcoming Cruise Shipping Trade Fair in Miami from March 12th to March 15th. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co KG, said “we are investing long-term in the expansion of our capacities.

The Port of Kiel opens its 2012 cruise shipping season on Saturday, March 31st. With a firework display to see her off, this year’s first guest, “AIDAcara,” will leave the port’s Ostseekai Terminal around 1700 for the Norwegian fiords. “We are well prepared and looking forward to the new season, which will, once again, be longer than last year,” said Dr. Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel. Regular maintenance and overhaul work on gangways and operational areas was all completed punctually at the Ostseekai Terminal in time for the start of the new season. One new feature is that the terminal facility is now eco-powered – meaning that its electricity is 100 percent generated by water.

This year’s cruise shipping season in Kiel opened on Saturday, April 5 when the first cruise ship of the year, the AIDAcara, berthed in the port after sailing through the Kiel Canal. During this year’s season, which will last until mid October, 22 different cruise ships are registered to visit Kiel a total of 125 times. The highlights of the season include the Kieler Woche regatta between June 21 and June 29 during which 16 cruise ships will be in the port alongside many tall ships. Dr.

More than 6.3 million tons of cargo and 2.2% more passengers handled. The Port of Kiel ended the year 2012 with a small plus in both cargo and passenger handling. Last year more than 6.3 million tons of cargo (an increase of 0.3%) were turned round for the first time. That was an increase – if only a small one – over handling posted in 2011. In the passenger sector more than 1.9 million travellers either boarded or disembarked from a ferry or cruise ship last year. That was an increase of 2.2% over the previous year.