Costa Inaugurates New Port of St. Petersburg, Russia

Costa Cruises inaugurated the new passenger port in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sept. 10 when the Costa Mediterranea became the first ship to call on the port. The cruise facility was built to accommodate cruise ships and their guests with a public and private investment worth $13 billion. Capt. Anelito Montesarchio was the first person to disembark from the ship and was welcomed by the governor of St. Petersburg, Valentina Matvienko.

The opening of the new port was celebrated with a performance by the Catalan theater group Fura del Baus. In addition to the governor, the inauguration of the new facility was attended by Alexander Davydenko, deputy minister of transport of the Russian Federation; Mario Martini, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Costa Crociere; and Shavkat Kary-Niyazov, president of Marine Façade, the company that managed the construction of the port.

The new passenger port in St. Petersburg is the first in Russia that is able to accommodate the latest generation of cruise ships, whose length exceeds 900 feet. Situated on the western side of Vasiljevskiy Island, it is near the old town and convenient to the main attractions of the city. The project will occupy 400 hectares and entails several stages of development, with work scheduled for completion by 2010.

Upon its completion, the new passenger Port of St. Petersburg will become the largest cruise and ferry industry project in the world. By the time it is finished, the port will have seven berths, three cruise terminals and one ferry terminal. The new port’s capacity will be 12,000 passengers a day and 1.2 million passengers a year. For the time being, one cruise terminal and two 300-meter berths are operating. The project will also incorporate business centers, exhibition halls, residential development and other facilities that will change the view of the St. Petersburg waterfront.

St. Petersburg is Russia’s busiest cruise port and one of the main cruise destinations in Northern Europe. The number of cruisers has increased from 163,000 in 2003 to an estimated 400,000 in 2008.