£50m Hull terminal plan wins backing

Essex-based Cruise and Maritime Voyages said it was an “exciting” prospect which could add 50 per cent more capacity to cruise ships leaving the port.

The plans for a Yorkshire cruise terminal, which would be a port of call, as well as an embarkation and disembarkation point, form part of the renewed push for a single devolution deal for the region.

A report for last week’s summit of 17 local authorities in York said it would boost the role of Hull “as a global gateway for tourism”.

Hull Council’s draft Local Plan – the planning blueprint until 2032 – states that the site at Sammy’s Point, next to the Deep aquarium, “is considered the best site to maximise the benefits to the city”.

The proposals – which could take until the mid 2020s to be realised – would see a jetty built out into deep water, allowing some of the world’s biggest cruise ships to dock. The Local Plan, which is due to be adopted this autumn, also envisages redesigning the Deep business centre and the car parking in the area to provide facilities for passengers.

Cruise and Maritime Voyages currently operate half-a-dozen cruises a year from Hull to the Baltic, British Isles and Norwegian fjords, using King George Dock.

But the lockgates limits the size of the ship to the smallest vessel in their fleet, the Marco Polo, which carries 800 passengers.

Head of marketing Mike Hall said the planned terminal would allow them to send larger vessels to Hull taking up to 1,400 passengers. It would also avoid the problem which will one day arise when they retire the Marco Polo.

He said: “The problem we have is we can’t get even a medium-sized ship into Hull – that’s why other cruise liners don’t go in there.

“Last month we had a cruise delayed coming back from the Baltic while transiting the Kiel Canal which meant we would miss the tide coming back to Hull.

“We had to bring the ship back to Newcastle, which doesn’t have the tidal issues, doesn’t have the lockgate problems and coach them back to Hull.”

Mr Hall warned that Hull, although “geographically very well located” for Norway, Iceland and the Baltic, would have to market itself as a cruise destination to compete in an international market.

He added that Liverpool fought successfully for a city centre terminal on the Mersey and although no more than an “elaborate tent”, a lot of large American cruise ships called in to visit famous Beatles sites.

Mr Hall added: “It’s easy for a city like Liverpool and probably even Bristol – there are certain places that don’t have to work very hard.

“Hull has had to work hard to lift its profile and I think it has done a tremendous job over recent years.

“If they can take that to another level, they can certainly develop their tourism.

“If there was another facility we could bring in more medium-sized ships – we’re talking 1,200 to 1,400 passengers, not 800. We can certainly add 50 per cent more capacity out of Hull.”