Even though the spanking new Pier Head cruise terminal has been set up at the city center water front at the Port of Liverpool, Fred Olsen Cruises will be pulling out from the port. The cruise line was one of the most valued customers for the Port of Liverpool, and it is set to lose the business. This is despite having set up the 19 million cruise terminal, which was inaugurated in 2009.
The Liverpool Port suffered the setback due to the brand new terminal being out of bounds for ship turnaround calls. Turnaround calls mean the embarking as well as disembarking commuters and supplies at the start and beginning of the voyage. This is not allowed at the Pier head Cruise terminal. The terminal can only be used for day visits by ships, and not for turnarounds.
This state of affairs is due to Southampton, chief rival of Liverpool, having launched a successful protest against the Pier Head cruise terminal being partially funded by the EU. The port claimed that it was unfair competition against privately funded ports such as itself. This resulted in the Pier Head terminal being only allowed for ay visits and not turnarounds.
Although Liverpool City Council is lobbying at the government for a change of rules, but Fred Olsen Cruises refused to wait any longer and will be pulling out. The cruise company was faithful to Liverpool for sometime, using an alternate dock at Langton, a commercial harbor that has certain disadvantages such as overlooking a scrap heap, fast tides and high winds, which made it a pain to get the ships out.
Fred Olsen will sail from British Ports such as Dover, Southampton and Portsmouth in the south and Greenock, Rosyth and Newcastle in the north.