| Achong Tanjong |
CRUISE shipping is re-emerging as a potential sector that can play an important role in boosting Brunei’s tourism industry which is currently implementing a slew of initiatives to market several of its products and services overseas and attract more visitors to the Sultanate.
Paying rich dividends to these efforts, more tourists are expected to visit Brunei via cruise ships in 2018, creating business opportunities for the local travel industry and allied sectors.
The latest cruise liner to visit Brunei is Silver Shadow which will anchor at Muara Port today at 9am. The ship will carry 358 passengers and 286 crew members. Of the passengers, 149 are from the United Kingdom, 85 from the United States, 40 from Australia, 24 from Switzerland and 22 from Canada. There are also passengers from Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Finland and some other countries.
During the brief stopover in the Sultanate, the passengers will visit local attractions including the Royal Regalia Museum, Kampong Ayer and the Temburong District.
Nurul Annie binti Abdullah from Jasra Harrisons Shipping and Agency Services Sdn Bhd said this year, the company will be handling nine cruise liners visiting Brunei.
She said the Silver Shadow will leave the same day at 11.30pm to Bintulu and again to its next port of call in Kota Kinabalu.
According to Brunei’s cruise shipping calendar, 15 liners visi Brunei this year. Seven Seas Voyager will dock at the Muara Port on January 30. In February 27-28, Star Legend and Viking Sun will visit the country.
The following month will see several other cruise ships docking at Muara Port. Seven Seas Navigator will arrive on March 11, Silver Whisper on March 12, Azamara Journey on March 28 and Seven Seas Voyager on March 31.
Silver Shadow is expected to arrive on April 10 and Oceania Insignia on April 21. Silver Muse will arrive on November 27 and AIDAvita on November 30.
Meanwhile, the arrival of the gigantic Queen Mary, which was expected to be docked at Muara Port on March 25, has been cancelled. Nurul Annie said the conventional terminal at the port which was built in the 1980’s is unable to facilitate the docking of the big cruise liner.
“We are still waiting for the upgrading of Muara Port. Once that is done, big cruise liners would be able to visit Brunei,” she added.
For the past few years, Muara Port has been recording an increase of cruise vessels, passengers and crew.
According to statistics from the Brunei Darussalam Maritime and Ports Authority, 16 cruise ships with 16,667 passengers and 8,155 crew members arrived in Brunei via Muara Port last year, while 21 cruise ships with 23,540 passengers and 11,524 crew members visited the country in 2015.
The highest number recorded to date was in 2010, when 34 vessels docked at Muara Port with 33,860 passengers and 14,310 crew members.
The second highest number of cruise ships was recorded in 2014 with 31 cruise ships, 18,810 passengers and 20,236 crew members, while the second highest number of passengers was recorded in 2013 with 26,865 passengers and 16,351 crew members in 25 cruise ships.
A total of 21 cruise ships with 19,151 passengers and 7,789 crew members were recorded in 2011, while 19 cruise ships with 19,913 passengers and 7,989 crew members were recorded in 2012.
The post Cruise shipping set to anchor tourism growth appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.