St. Lucia Joins Hands with Cruise Giants to Build Seaport

Global leisure travel company Carnival and the US-based Royal Caribbean Cruises have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Saint Lucia to build a new cruise port.

The companies will form a joint venture (JV) that will manage the existing cruise pier and terminal facilities at the Port of Castries.

According to the agreement, all the three partners will collaborate to build, design, fund and operate the new cruise port in Vieux Fort, the southern part of Saint Lucia island. The new port will be capable of managing the newest ships in the cruise industry.

Royal Caribbean president and CEO Michael Bayley said: “The cruise market is the fastest-growing sector of tourism and in the next decade cruising in the Caribbean region is anticipated to increase by 40%.

The JV will develop cruise infrastructure to serve the latest ships and grow local cruise tourism. Currently, Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruises represent 75% of all cruise ship deployment to Saint Lucia.

Earlier this month, Carnival started the construction of the first cruise terminal at the Sasebo Port in Japan. The terminal is scheduled to be operational by the middle of 2020.

Source: Ship Technology