Five years after the instalment of the floating cruise pier SeaWalk in the UNESCO-listed Geirangerfjord, Norway, the company has announced its first sale in the Caribbean.
A SeaWalk pier will become a central part of an extensive tourist development project in Jamaica.
The pier is scheduled to be delivered to the Port Authority of Jamaica in the Autumn of 2018 and will be installed at Port Royal, part of ‘the sunken pirate city’, which is being preserved by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust.
“This is a big breakthrough for us, and creates many opportunities in the future,” said Arthur Kordt, Partner of Cruise Ventures which delivers the SeaWalk piers. “We see that there is a large potential for flexible, environmentally friendly cruise piers in the world markets these days, and we expect to do more installations in the near future.”
“The SeaWalk pier has already been used for more than 350 cruise calls in five different destinations in Scandinavia. The clear advantage of the SeaWalk is that cruise passengers can be brought to shore at almost any destination possible,” Kordt added.
It was decisive factor for the government in Jamaica that SeaWalk had been in operation in Geirangerfjord in Norway. This fjord is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, while UNESCO application is pending for the Underwater City at Port Royal.
“SeaWalk is one of the most important environmental measures in Geiranger, as it eliminates the need for tender boats,” said Rita Berstad Maraak, Harbour Master in Geirangerfjord Cruise Harbour. Maraak said that there were many delegations coming to check out the floating innovation.
“We use mooring installations based on the extreme North Sea environment, which up until now has been unprecedented in the Caribbean region,” said Capt Svein Sleipnes, regional representative for SeaWalk. Adding; “SeaWalk can utilise safe havens previously not available until now.”
Ole Heggheim, Chairman of SeaWalk explained that the cost compared to a fixed pier is one of the best sales arguments. Heggheim is also partner of the world patented concept together with Kordt.
SeaWalk will be represented on the upcoming Seatrade cruiseship convention in Fort Lauderdale at the beginning of March.
