Grand Port Maritime de Bordeaux has invested E610,000 in upgrading its cruiseship berths as part of an overall renovation project, according to Catherine Leparmentier Dayot, Cruise Bordeaux. It has taken five months to complete the work which has been carried out with careful consideration of the city’s heritage.
Ships of up to 8.5m draught and 210m in length are able to dock at Port de la Lune at the city centre. The 22 fenders along the quay have been entirely replaced since November 2009.
The 2010 season began with the arrival of Hurtigruten’s Fram on April 5. The port is expecting 24 calls and 14,500 passengers compared to 28 calls and 25,443 passengers in 2009. Newbuilding Sea Cloud Hussar was to make two calls this year but these have been cancelled due to her delayed delivery
There are two more berthing facilities, one at Bassens (ships up to 250m long) and one in Le Verdon at the mouth of the estuary for the larger ships.
All three sites have recycling and waste water facilities.
