Port chockers so cruise visitors ferried to shore

CRUISE ship passengers had to arrive in Hobart by tender boats yesterday, with three cruise ships in town and room for only two of them to berth.

The Astor and the Queen Elizabeth vessels berthed with their 1500 passengers at the two slots that cruise ships use at the wharf near the Macq01 hotel.

Meanwhile, many of the 2500 passengers on the Viking Orion ship had to be content to arrive onshore via lifeboat-like tenders.

Despite the logistical challenge, TasPorts acting CEO Anthony Donald said Hobart’s first arrival of cruise ship passengers to shore by tenders was a success.

“While the company would prefer to have cruise ships berth directly onto its wharves, it worked really well,” Mr Donald said.

“Our team put a lot of plan- ning and preparation work into it, but at the end of the day, it was just another day in the port.

“It’s not something that we would expect to see often in the future, but the feedback we received has been very positive.”

Jack and Susan Owens, from the US, who came ashore via tender said their arrival into Hobart was without any serious hassle.

“It took around 15 minutes to arrive but it would have taken some time to depart the ship as normal anyway,” Mr Owens said.

“While it was a slight inconvenience, it was extremely well organised and very smooth.”

Destination Southern Tasmania CEO Alex Heroys acknowledged the challenge of co-ordinating three large cruise ships in Hobart at once.

He thought it would be unlikely three large ships would be rostered to dock in Hobart together again. “It’s obviously not the norm and it’s unlikely we’ll see it again, so I think it’s very much a one-off,” Mr Heroys said.

“But given how well the tenders operated yesterday and the positive feedback, I think it was a bit of fun for all involved.”

Mr Heroys said while it may seem unusual in Hobart, cruise ships often use tender boats to offload passengers at a number of ports worldwide — includ- ing at Port Arthur. Premier Will Hodgman said Hobart’s cruise ship program was an important contributor to the state’s visitor economy.

“Passengers and crew spent $34.5 million in Tasmania last year alone and we know that many cruise passengers will return again to holiday in the state,” Mr Hodgman said.

A total of 23 more cruise ships are scheduled to dock in Hobart until the annual cruise ship season ends in June.