VENTURA, the largest UK-market cruise ship will homeport at Southampton

Southampton to get fourth cruise ship terminal
£19 million investment as Southampton and Carnival sign 20 year contract...

A fourth cruise terminal is to be constructed at Associated British Ports’ (ABP) Port of Southampton after ABP and Carnival UK signed a major, 20-year contract on 7th December

As part of the agreement, ABP will invest £19m in the new terminal, which will be built at Ocean Dock opposite the site of the old Ocean Terminal. As Ocean Terminal was once home to many of the great transatlantic liners of the last century, when the port was first known as the ‘Gateway to the World,’ the new terminal will stand both as testimony to Southampton’s ocean-liner history and as a symbol of the modern cruising age.

The agreement will also give Carnival UK – the world’s leading cruise company, whose cruise brands include Cunard, Ocean Village, P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises – priority use of the port’s Queen Elizabeth II and Mayflower Terminals, further strengthening the group’s relationship with the port.

Today’s announcement comes at a historic time for Southampton’s cruise business. Cunard’s Queen Victoria has recently sailed into the port for the first time, and next year will see the arrival of P&O’s Ventura, the largest cruise ship ever to be built for the UK market. Both of these vessels will then be based at the port. The announcement also follows a period of unprecedented growth for Southampton’s cruise industry, with 245 cruise calls and over 800,000 passengers passing through the port this year and 290 cruise calls and close to one million passengers expected in 2008.

Doug Morrison, ABP Port Director, Southampton, said:
“The signing of this contract is spectacular news for the Port of Southampton. Over the last few years, our cruise business has gone from strength to strength, reflecting the consuming public’s ever-growing demand for luxury cruise holidays. We are delighted to be building the new terminal, on the back of this long-term agreement, as it not only strengthens our close relationship with Carnival but also demonstrates our faith in the future of this trade.

He added: “Although, as Southampton’s Port Director, I initially talk about the benefits this new terminal will bring to the port, it is worth remembering just how much of a boost it will also give the city and the wider regional economy. The region’s businesses thrive on a healthy cruise market and I am overjoyed that the signing of our agreement today will have such a positive knock-on effect for Southampton and the surrounding area.”

Carnival UK chief executive officer David Dingle said:
“The new terminal agreement comes as we prepare to base further new ships in Southampton including Cunard Line’s Queen Victoria, which arrived today in preparation for her naming on Monday, and P&O Cruises’ Ventura which will be home-ported here from next April.

“Our new ships are testament to the growth of the cruise industry, the strength of its links with Southampton and its massive economic contribution to the region, and it is fitting that they will sail from a new state-of-the-art terminal in the city.”