Cruises in Puerto Madryn, Patagonia, Argentina

Puerto Madryn in Argentine Patagonia expects a considerable fall in the number of cruise calls following Norwegian Cruise Lines decision to stop operating in the Valparaíso/Buenos Aires tour in the next 2010/2011 season.

Local authorities believe this could mean ten cruise calls less and the absence of 20.000 visitors, which means that since the global recession begun in 2008 cruise activity in Puerto Madryn has been cut by almost half.

“From an average fifty cruise calls the season will be reduced to 25, in 2010/11” said David De Bunder head of Puerto Madryn port operations, quoted by the local press.

However De Bunder said that local authorities will be appealing to Norwegian Cruise Lines since this year all vessels are fully booked and the company is enjoying “a very successful season” and maybe “they should be thinking about chartering vessels if they already have other plans for their own vessels”.

De Bunder said that Norwegian Cruise Lines argued that three main reasons have forced them to take such drastic decision.

“The access toll to the port of Buenos Aires through the Mitre Canal and the Chilean piloting costs along the Beagle Channel are simply too unrealistically high, plus the fact that the Malvinas government bans from its waters all vessels powered by heavy fuel, have forced the Norwegians to abandon this route”, revealed De Bunder.

Most cruise vessels calling in Puerto Madryn will cease crossing to Malvinas “which imposed the heavy fuel ban for environmental protection reasons”.

Cruise vessels to navigate in Malvinas waters will need to be powered by lighter fuel, which is far more expensive than heavy oil plus the fact most of the Norwegian Cruise Lines do not comply with these conditions.

Some of the options which Norwegian Cruise Lines should consider according to De Bunder is chartering a smaller vessel, or one similar to Norwegian Crown, which carries 1.500 passengers and is powered by light fuel and could then sail to the Malvinas Islands.

“The fact is that the Valaparaiso/Buenos Aires cruise has become extremely popular and is fully booked, so I personally think that Norwegian Lines is reconsidering its decision”, said De Bunder. But so far the last official information is that next season (2010/11) the company will not be cruising South Atlantic waters, he added.

Another option for Puerto Madryn is that other cruise lines cover the vacuum left by Norwegian, “for example Holland America Line that this year has returned with the Veendam, or Costa Cruceros, or AIDA Cruises, which only called in Buenos Aires and has announced Puerto Madryn for next season”.

About Puerto Madryn

Is a city in the province of Chubut in the Argentine Patagonia. It is the head town of the Viedma Department, and has about 58,000 inhabitants.

The town was founded on 28 July 1865, when 150 Welsh immigrants who came in the clipper Mimosa named the natural port Porth Madryn in honour of Sir Love Jones-Parry, whose estate in Wales was named “Madryn”. The settlement grew as a result of the building of the Central of Chubut Railway by Welsh, Spanish and Italian immigrants. This line, opened in 1888, linked it to Trelew via the lower Chubut River valley. Puerto Madryn is protected by the Golfo Nuevo, which is formed by Península Valdés and Punta Ninfas. It is an important centre for tourists visiting the natural attractions of the Península Valdés and the coast.

Boardwalk and beach at Puerto Madryn.A new mall in the city center has helped tourism significantly, making Puerto Madryn a more attractive place for both international and domestic tourists visiting Patagonia. It is twinned with Nefyn, a small town on the Ll?n Peninsula in North Wales, result of its great link with Welsh culture since the Welsh settlement in Argentina. The first of a two-Test tour to Argentina by the Wales national rugby union team was played in 2006 in Puerto Madryn, a 27–25 win for Argentina. Puerto Madryn is home to two football clubs; Club Social y Atlético Guillermo Brown, who play in Torneo Argentino A and Deportivo Madryn that currently play in Torneo Argentino B.

A basketball team, Deportivo Puerto Madryn plays in the Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (LNB). Their home arena is known as the Deportivo Puerto Madryn Arena.
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SOURCES:

“Puerto Madryn cruise industry faces bleak future”
Thursday, January 7th 2010
Merco Press
http://www.mercopress.com
http://en.mercopress.com/2010/01/07/puerto-madryn-cruise-industry-faces-bleak-future

“Puerto Madryn”
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Madryn