MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ushuaia expects a record cruise season with 540 vessel calls confirmed

A busy season with several vessels in the port of Ushuaia

Tierra del Fuego Ports' Authority has announced that climate permitting, this coming 2022/2023 cruise season Ushuaia is expecting some 540 vessel calls, making it probably a record season both in the number of passengers and vessels. At the height of the season, eighteen vessels will be visiting the Argentine extreme south city.

Miguel Ramirez deputy head of the Ports Authority said that “we already have 540 calls confirmed, and we are coordinating with operators the logistics for the days when most cruse traffic is expected”.

Ramirez indicated that coordinating logistics was essential, because of the expected congestion of vessels expected at the height of the season, when on some days the port of Ushuaia will have to cater for some eighteen cruise vessels, both the massive and the rather smaller option of Expeditions, interested in Antarctica tours.

Operators in Ushuaia will also need to have sufficient ground transport to take visitors to the different attractions of the southernmost city of the world,

Authorities have also anticipated that the Ushuaia port will remain operating normally during summer months, that is receiving container vessels supplying the province plus other general cargo particularly for the constructing industry given several major public works investment.

In effect the expansion of the Ushuaia port and docking facilities has been completed 50%, and the first 80 meters of the landing platform has already been finished and ready for inauguration November/December.

Finally port authorities are very enthusiastic about the coming season recalling that before the pandemic, 2019/2020 Ushuaia received 409 calls including Antarctica and bi-ocean cruises. In 2020/2021 no operations took place and in 2021/2022. If the announced 540 are confirmed, 2022/2023 will become by far a record season.