Namibia’s new cruise terminal in Walvis Bay dogged by lack of bunkering services

The new cruise terminal constructed in Walvis Bay and operated by Namport has seen its first cruise season hampered by a lack of re-fueling facilities for cruise ships, reports The Namibian.

The first cruise ship scheduled to use the new cruise pier was Phoenix Reisen’s Albatros on her 86-night Bremerhaven to Monaco Grand Voyage, which includes a sojourn down the west coast of Africa and into the Indian Ocean.

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Albatros was unable to use the pier when she called on October 18^th though, as she was in need of bunkering after the voyage down the Atlantic ocean, and the new pier does not have bunkering facilities.

The 1973-built classic cruise ship carrying 850 mostly German passengers was instead forced to use the old terminal.

At the time of writing, Namport had not replied to a request for comment on why the new terminal does not have bunkering facilities for cruise ships, the majority of which will arrive in Walvis Bay on repositioning cruises across the Atlantic.

It’s unclear how the absence of such facilities will affect the arrival of six more international passenger liners scheduled to call at the port of Walvis Bay before the year’s end.

Albatros called in Cape Town and several other South African ports as part of the Grand Voyage, at the time of writing she was in port in Durban.

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The Cape Town port call on October 22^nd doubled-up as a turnaround with Phoenix Reisen offering a 16-night cruise from the city to Mahe in the Seychelles.

Albatros will be back in Cape Town on November 7^th for her 26-night return leg from the Mother City to Monaco.

This cruise calls at 10 ports, many of them along the West African coast, including Walvis Bay, Lüderitz, Angola, Cameroon, Ghana, Gambia and the Atlantic islands of  Sao Tome and Principe and the Canary Islands.

Albatros is a grand old dame of the cruise fleet. She was first launched in 1973 and spent almost two decades sailing for the legendary Royal Viking Line, which competed with Cunard for exclusivity and cruise glamour during the 70s and 80s.

After Royal Viking Line went bankrupt, the ship briefly operated for Norwegian Cruise Line as the Norwegian Star, and several other cruise operators, before finding her current home with Phoenix Reisen.

Phoenix Reisen is a German cruise line, targeting German speaking cruise markets exclusively. All on-board information is in German, along with entertainment and public announcements.