The board of directors of the Vigo Port Authority unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding with the port of Lisbon to cooperate in attracting cruise ships to their respective docks.
The president of the Vigo port, Ignacio López Chaves, explained in a press conference that more than 70% of the cruise ships that arrive or leave Vigo have Lisbon as their origin or destination, just as more than 20% of the passenger ships that stop in the Portuguese port have Vigo as their origin or destination.
The memorandum of understanding, which will be signed "in the coming days", involves presenting a unique product to shipping companies, through the exchange of commercial and statistical information or through joint advertising actions, in order to increase the number of port calls in both ports.
Lisbon is currently the leading port on the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula and, in 2013, it registered more than 520,000 cruise passengers.
In addition, the Portuguese port has recently awarded the concession for a new cruise terminal for an amount of 25 million euros, among whose recipients is the shipping company Royal Caribbean International.
This October has been the most important month of the year for the port of Vigo in terms of the number of visitors, with more than 61,600 cruise ship tourists.
The total for September and October has left approximately 118,000 people in Vigo, 99% of whom are foreigners.
The president of the Vigo Port Authority also informed the board of directors today of a new container line that will begin operating next Tuesday.
This new line, offered by CMA-CGM, the world's third largest container shipping company, will connect Vigo every Tuesday with its main ocean terminals.
Until now, the shipping company used other companies' vessels to move its customers' goods. By using its own fleet, it will improve its TEU handling capacity.
This new line will offer Spanish customers and those from northern and central Portugal an alternative for loading/unloading from Vigo, with delivery times of 2 days to Tangier, 3 to Casablanca, 3 days from Le Havre and 4 from Antwerp.
Freight traffic at the port of Vigo increased by 1.8% in September, mainly due to the increases experienced by metals, cement, processed granite, frozen fish and canned goods in the year to date.
EFE
