ABIDJAN PORT ACCOMMODATES THE LARGEST CRUISE SHIP OF ITS HISTORY

Activités portuaires Friday 28 April 2023

Côte D’Ivoire is more and more a popular destination for the maritime tour operators and attracts many visitors fond of sightseeing cruise.

ZUIDERDAM, a beautiful Ocean Liner which is a HOLLAND AMERICA LINE owned cruise line docked at Abidjan Port on Sunday 26 March 2023 with 2128 people on its board including 1364 passengers et 764 crew members.

Flying the Dutch flag, the giant of the seas with 11 floors is to date the biggest cruise ships calling at Abidjan Port. It is 286 meters long and 32 meters wide with 8 meters draught.

Coming from Takoradi in Ghana, with Fort Lauderdale Port in Florida as a point of departure since 15 December 2022, the cruise ship will make one day stopover in Abidjan followed by several others successively in Banjul (Gambia), Dakar (Senegal) Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Arrecife (Spain) before ending its journey in Agadir, Morroco on 04 April 2023. Sea Invest Shipping Agency (SISA) made it possible for ZUIDERDAN to arrive in Abidjan.

This long stopover in Abidjan was an opportunity for those with a passion for adventure to set out to discover the many sight seeing spots in Côte d’Ivoire. Thus the 700 passengers have been able to take advantage of rich tourism circuits.

The passengers have been able to immerse themselves in the rich Ivorian cultural heritage through the visits of Treichville’s craft village, Côte d’Ivoire’s Museum of Civilizations, Saint Paul Cathedral of Plateau, the beaches and the Grand Bassam National Museum of Costume but also they had the opportunity to go for hiking in Forêt du Banco on the way to Yopougon and in “ Jardin Botanique de Bingerville”.

This vessels with as modern as contemporary architecture provides its passengers with various and varied services: specialized restaurants for gourmets fond of American and Italian cuisines, dancing, karaoke gallery, piano bars, Terraces, art buying rooms porches, covered swimming pools, and on the top floor, a basketball court for the crew members as well as an open swimming pool with a beautiful view of Abidjan City and the modern facilities of Abidjan Port.

The regular berthing of the cruise ships is evidence of the quality services provided by the Abidjan Port platform, but also indicates the security and safety of Ivorian waters.

Note that since the commissioning of ZUIDERDAM in 2022, it has done 784 cruises all over the world.

It should be recalled that ZUIDERDAM is the third passenger boat chartered in Abidjan by SISA Agency. The latest chartered ship was M/S ZAANDAM in December.