Pressure builds on Sydney to host more cruise ships

A GROWING chorus of cruise industry heavy hitters is increasing pressure on the state government to find a way to host more ships in Sydney.

• Overcrowding means cruise ships are bound for Botany Bay
• Ovation of The Seas, is the biggest cruise ship ever in Sydney

A GROWING chorus of cruise industry heavy hitters is increasing pressure on the state government to find a way to host more ships in Sydney — saying that international visitors don’t want to go to Brisbane or Melbourne.

As capacity constraints threaten to stop 12 years of double-digit growth in the boom sector, Cruise Lines International Association Australasia­ managing director Joel Katz warned millions of dollars could be lost from regional economies.

Along with CLIA chairman Steve Odell, Mr Katz demanded the state government act immediately to address the capacity crisis.

Earlier this year, The Daily Telegraph revealed Sydney was missing out on lucrative cruises due to a lack of space.

Mr Odell said already cruise ships were pulling out of Australia and going overseas because they couldn’t get into the harbour city.

“We’re supportive of all initiatives­ to develop ports (elsewhere) but at the end of the day, you’ve got to have a port where you can do turnarounds, where there’s a decent airport and great hotels,” Mr Odell said. “You cannot attract­ international customers to the secondary ports like Brisbane or Melbourne. It has to be Sydney for the international customers.”

ESCAPE - Travel - RCI cruise ship Explorer of the Seas in Sydney Harbour. Picture: supplied.

Maritime Minister Melinda Pavey said the state was working with industry to improve capacity and plans to speak to the federal government about using Garden Island, sharing facilities with the navy.

“In the longer term it is clear that all industry and government­ need clarity on what can be done to deliver additional­ berth capacity in Sydney,” her spokesman said.

Among those ships lost to the Australian market was Royal Caribbean’s mega-liner Voyager of the Seas, which will now sail out of China and Singapore instead.

Mr Odell, also Norwegian Cruise Lines Australasia senior vice-president, said they had struggled to get “optimum itineraries­” for their first ship to be based Down Under. “We want to expand the season (for Norwegian Star) but we also want to bring more ships and right now we can’t do that. We need Sydney as a hallmark port,” Mr Odell said. “We’ve had to put our plans on hold.”

Alastair Fernie, who runs cruise retailer CruiseAway by Dreamlines, said the lack of capacity­ in Sydney was an industry-wide concern.

A NSW Port Authority spokeswoman said a number of initiatives were being considered to address­ capacity.

“One of the short- to medium­-term initiatives being explored … is a proposal to introduce­ a secondary­ timeslot, that is double turnarounds, at the Overseas Passenger Terminal and have two ships turn around in a day — thereby providing more capacity­ at the terminal outside of traditional hours and turnaround times,” she said, adding the government was working on a 25-year “cruise plan”.