Wallem Shipping China (Wallem Ship Agency) handled the Shanghai call of the ‘Viking Sun’ on its inaugural 2018 Viking World Cruise earlier this month.
The ship berthed on Shanghai’s historic Bund, where she underwent an elaborate christening ceremony.
Ahead of the call, the Wallem China team helped to co-ordinate a meeting between Viking and SIPG cruise terminal, resulting in a reduction in the charge for the event space hire at the terminal.
As Viking’s port agent for China, the Wallem team took care of all the logistics of the call, including but not limited to arranging fresh water supply, customs formalities, crew changes and the disembarkation and embarkation of passengers.
Wallem Ship Agency China general manager, Pony Chen, said, “All arrangements were finalised ahead of time thanks to the team’s hard work and close co-ordination. However, on the evening the ship was due to arrive, high winds forced the port to close and the call was in jeopardy.
“My team urgently contacted the Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) VTS and pilot centre and negotiated a plan B – for the ship to pick up the pilot at the inner position of channel. A Wallem clerk also spent the whole night at the MSA VTS centre to ensure smooth operations,” he explained.
