Mariehamn has plans to dedicate one of its berths to cruiseships, either berth 1 or 2, and will begin extending berth 6 next year for completion in 2013, says Guy Dannstrom, port manager.
There also plans to renovate and expand the terminal which is about 10 minutes walk to the city centre.
There are six West Harbour berths in total with an entering depth of 8.2m. Berth 1 and 6 are those most suitable for cruiseships. The former is for smaller ships with lengths up to 40m (together with berth 2 250m) and the latter can receive those up to 240m in length.
There are also anchorage possibilities in Western Harbour (0.5nm) or North Grano Island (1.2nm). Depth at the former is 7.8m while at the latter between 9m and 18m. Maximum length of vessel is about 270m.
In 2010 the Finnish port received 22 calls and 5,300 passengers with 12 calls already booked for 2011. Cruiseships calling including Silver Cloud, National Geographic Explorer, Saga Pearl II and Sea Cloud 2.
