After the coronavirus shutdown, the cruise industry will continue to grow, as shown by the order book for shipyards, and the Ports of Las Palmas want to be prepared with new terminals.
Article from CruisesNews magazine no. 56 – March 2021
Cruise passenger traffic in the Canary Islands has doubled in the last ten years, exceeding 2.5 million passengers in 2019. The Canary Islands are organized into two port authorities, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas.
In the case of the Port of Las Palmas, passenger numbers have increased from 668,500 in 2010 to 1,486,118 in 2019. Even during the fateful year of 2020, Las Palmas achieved first place in the number of cruise passengers within the Spanish port system, with 517,241 passengers. This milestone was due to the strong figures in January and February, months in which it typically leads the national ranking for cruise passenger traffic with around 200,000 passengers per month. It even topped the ranking in March with 71,102 passengers, despite the shutdown of activity on the 14th.
With 472,859 passengers accumulated in March, it would resume operations in November 2020 thanks to safe cruises from TUI Cruises, AIDA Cruises, and Hapag-Lloyd, which sailed only between islands and with German passengers brought in specifically on charter flights for the cruise. This would bring in an additional 44,382 passengers.
The Port Authority of Las Palmas manages the port facilities of Las Palmas, Arrecife and Puerto del Rosario, corresponding to the islands of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, the easternmost of the archipelago.
The Port Authority has been carrying out expansions and improvements at all its ports, such as the expansion of the Santa Catalina docks in the Port of Las Palmas, and the construction and expansion of cruise ship docks in both the Port of Arrecife and the Port of El Rosario, reaching a total investment of €45 million over the last decade. However, an additional €15 million is still planned for the expansion of the Naos cruise terminal in the Port of Arrecife, and €2.5 million for completing the expansions at Santa Catalina in Las Palmas and the extension of the outer breakwater in the Port of El Rosario, which will eventually allow for the duplication of the only existing cruise ship berth in Fuerteventura.
Despite all these investments in docks and piers, undoubtedly necessary given the increased traffic, cruise ships continue to operate from the Santa Catalina Dock in Las Palmas, the busiest port, in the old ferry terminal built 30 years ago for a different purpose. This shortfall has been temporarily mitigated by renting tents, but it has been concluded that the existing facilities are insufficient in capacity and lack other desirable features in terms of safety, service quality, and accessibility.
The Ports of Las Palmas doubled their number of cruise passengers in 9 years.
Therefore, it has been decided that new and improved facilities must be built, through a public tender for the construction and operation of a new public passenger terminal at the Santa Catalina Wharf, to be carried out by a private operator. This will resolve the Port Authority's insufficient resources to optimally handle all cruise ship calls and will put an end to an anachronism in modern port landlord operations.
The docks of the Port of Arrecife and the Port of Rosario suffer from a similar lack of adequate facilities for cruise ships, which compromises their future prospects.
The public tender for new terminals
On December 16, 2020, the Board of Directors of the Port Authority agreed to delegate to the President of the entity the launch of a tender to offer to the public competition the granting of a concession of port public domain for the operation of public cruise passenger terminals in the ports of Las Palmas, Arrecife and Puerto del Rosario, including the execution of the necessary works.
The intention of the Port Authority of Las Palmas is to develop a new public maritime passenger terminal in the Port of Las Palmas and to improve the current facilities for cruise passengers in the Port of Arrecife and the Port of Rosario, so that the strengths of the port network of this province can be taken advantage of, and trying to guarantee the permanence of the activity achieved and attract new traffic.
One of the key requirements of this tender is that the new public cruise passenger terminal at the Port of Las Palmas, along with the cruise facilities at the Ports of Arrecife and Rosario, must be operated open to general cruise passenger traffic. This means moving away from the private terminal model controlled by a single shipowner and seeking a neutral operator capable of attracting traffic from across the market. In fact, another requirement for bidding on this tender is having experience managing passenger terminals for scheduled or cruise ship services.
In 2019, the Ports of Las Palmas received 1,486,118 cruise passengers.
Sixty percent of the evaluation will be based on the technical proposal, while the remaining forty percent will be based on the financial proposal. Half of the financial proposal's evaluation will depend on the tariff structure and maximum fares to be applied to passenger services. Therefore, the Port Authority makes it clear that it is committed not only to market-neutral management but also to the most economically efficient approach possible.
The competition establishes four concession zones, and bids that do not present proposals for all of them will not be accepted.
• The first of these is at the Santa Catalina docks in the Port of Las Palmas (Gran Canaria), with 32,694 m² available on land, not including the docks or the berthing maneuvering area. This area has 1,587 m of berthing space in four rows.
• The second area is the Puerto Naos Dock in the Port of Arrecife (Lanzarote), with 34,097 m2 available in the land area and 350 m of berthing, although it must consider serving the planned southern expansion of the cruise dock, with another 340 m of berthing.
• The third area is the Muelle de los Mármoles in the Port of Arrecife (Lanzarote), with 7,315 m2 in the land area and 650 m of berthing.
• Finally, the fourth zone is the Cruise Dock of Puerto del Rosario (Fuerteventura), with 6,286 m2 in the land area and 390 m of berthing.
For the Port of Las Palmas, a terminal designated as "Type A" in the tender must be offered; that is, a terminal designed to handle cruise ship operations from homeports, interporting, or transit stops. It must have the capacity to simultaneously handle two homeport calls and a third interporting or transit call, for which it must have at least three fixed bridge-type gangways to connect the cruise ship to the terminal.
For the remaining areas, "Type B" terminals must be offered. These will be basic facilities to facilitate the management of cruise ship calls in transit, ensuring compliance with regulations, quality standards, and safety regulations. It is optional for these terminals to operate as homeports, but if they do not initially, the design must allow for future expansion to accommodate them.
The quality of the architectural design and its finishes, as well as its integration into the urban landscape, accessibility, and compliance with ISPS/PBIP port security regulations, are of course factors to consider, but so is sustainability. The facilities must be sustainable and energy-efficient, implementing renewable energy sources and sustainable construction criteria, considering economic, social, and environmental factors.
The new cruise terminal in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria will have to be able to handle two home port operations and one interporting or transit operation simultaneously.
The publication in the Official State Gazette on January 27, 2021, kicked off a five-month period for interested parties to submit their bids before the end of June. The required investment is estimated to be between 20 and 25 million euros, and the Port Authority's Board of Directors could select a winner in the autumn of this year, with the aim of having the new terminals operational by 2025.
Cruises in times of COVID-19
Three shipping companies, dedicated to the German market, restarted their tourist cruises in the Canary Islands in November 2020: TUI Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd's, with a total of 5 ships sailing exclusively in the archipelago.
TUI Cruises began operating a fortnightly route with the Mein Schiff 1, while the Mein Schiff 2 operates a weekly route, both based in Las Palmas. TUI Cruises completed a total of 28 cruises with the two ships between November 2020 and March 2021. The average monthly occupancy reached 1,256 passengers in December and the lowest was 859 in February. The ships were scheduled to operate at 60% capacity with a maximum of 1,500 passengers.
AIDA Cruises operated weekly routes with the AIDAmar and AIDAperla, based in Las Palmas, in December. It plans to resume operations with the AIDAperla on March 20.
It completed a total of 11 cruises, reaching its highest average monthly occupancy in December 2020 with 898 passengers. It had planned to sail at 70% capacity with 1,700 passengers.
Hapag-Lloyd operated the Europa 2 weekly routes with its home port in Santa Cruz de Tenerife until mid-February and plans to resume operations at the end of March.
It has completed a total of 10 cruises to the Canary Islands, with an average of 293 passengers in December. It had planned to operate at 50% capacity and not exceed 300 passengers.
Of the nearly 25,000 passengers who took cruises to the Canary Islands on the three aforementioned cruise lines between November 2020 and February 2021 (36 cruises), only two outbreaks were recorded, with 7 and 4 cases respectively, involving asymptomatic passengers and crew. These outbreaks were contained through the application of established protocols without causing further problems.
The Canary Islands, the warmest European destination year-round.
With an average temperature of 16°C in winter and 22°C in summer, the Canary Islands are the quintessential European subtropical paradise. Located off the west coast of Morocco, they enjoy a privileged climate throughout the year, making them a perfect winter destination. Many cruise lines have already recognized this, which explains why their peak passenger numbers occur from December to April.
Between November 2020 and February 2021, 36 cruises were operated with 25,000 passengers and only two COVID-19 outbreaks of 7 and 4 people were recorded, which were controlled by applying the established protocols.
Since the Canary archipelago is made up of seven islands, each with its own personality and distinct tourist attractions, it is possible to configure routes between islands with minimal fuel consumption.
Gran Canaria is a mountainous, almost perfectly round island, with its capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, at its northern tip. Las Palmas boasts a historic center with cobbled streets and houses with wooden balconies, showcasing examples of traditional, late Gothic, and Renaissance architecture. Just a few meters away lies the urban beach of Las Canteras, one of the island's many beaches, with the Maspalomas Dunes being particularly famous for their ever-changing and wild landscape
But if we want paradise beaches, Fuerteventura has 150 km where you can choose between wilder or more sporty beaches, in addition to Villa de Betancuria, the first city on the island founded in the 15th century.
With a sunny and warm climate all year round, the Canary Islands are the quintessential European subtropical paradise.
In Lanzarote, the painter, sculptor, and artist César Manrique created a series of unique spaces, taking advantage of the volcanic lava formations. These are both surprising and delightful to visit, such as Jameos del Agua and his own house, now a museum and headquarters of the foundation that bears his name. Mirador del Río and the Cactus Garden are other examples of his work on the island.
On the other hand, the neighboring islands of Tenerife and La Palma can also welcome cruise ships and showcase their tourist attractions, such as Mount Teide, the highest peak in Spain and the third largest volcano on Earth measured from its base on the seabed. With its incredible landscapes, imposing volcanoes, deep forests, inviting beaches, and star-filled skies, La Palma is known as "La Isla Bonita" (The Beautiful Island).
Other nearby destinations
: 280 nautical miles to the north lies Funchal, the capital of Madeira, another classic stop on Atlantic cruises. Agadir, on the coast of Morocco, is about 330 nautical miles away, and Casablanca is 525 nautical miles away, while on the Iberian Peninsula, Cádiz is about 685 nautical miles away and Lisbon is 705 nautical miles away.
