Under the escort of maritime authorities, the "Merchant Eden" cruise ship gracefully docked at North Bund on March 21, reviving the spectacle of three ships moored side by side and heralding a warm spring for the cruise industry.
The "Merchant Eden" stands as China's first luxury cruise ship under the Chinese flag. Spanning 227 meters in length and 28.8 meters in width, it boasts 465 rooms with private balconies.
The ship is equipped with multiple specialty restaurants and bars, along with an open-air cinema and starry sky theater, among other entertainment and leisure facilities.
Since its inaugural voyage from North Bund, Hongkou, on March 26 last year, the "Merchant Eden" has rekindled Shanghai's passion for cruise life.
Sharing the North Bund waterfront with the "Merchant Eden" were two other vessels: the "Atania," a cruise ship on a global journey, and the "Century Legend," a Yangtze River cruise ship.
This simultaneous docking of a homeport cruise, a visiting port cruise, and a Yangtze River cruise at North Bund not only signifies the cruise industry's bustling spring season but also reflects the diversifying cruise business landscape of North Bund.
In a move that signals the "warm spring" of the cruise industry, the Huangpu Maritime Bureau extended customized services to the "Merchant Eden."
Huangpu Maritime Bureau handled its first cross-domain business case and promoted the "Maritime Pass" app and the first batch of "Mobile Handling," "Cross-Domain Handling," and "Seamless Handling" services.
Traditionally, seafarer certificate information collection required a visit to an authorized maritime institution, which was not only inconvenient due to the limited number of locations but also costly in terms of time and transportation for seafarers.
This process posed challenges for cruise companies, as the short docking time at ports and the need for a large number of crew members to disembark for certification could impact cruise operations and increase operating costs.
Taking advantage of the "Merchant Eden's" docking at North Bund, personnel from the Huangpu Maritime Bureau boarded the ship with seafarer information collection equipment to process information collection or changes for 102 crew members in need.
What would typically require a lengthy process of disembarking is now completed in under three minutes per person, reducing hassle for both the public and businesses.
North Bund in Hongkou is a crucial part of the "National Cruise Tourism Development Experimental Zone." In recent years, milestones such as China's first cruise homeport, the first homeport cruise route, the country's first "International Cruise Economy Talent Base," Shanghai's first wholly foreign-owned travel agency, and the nation's first foreign-invested cruise ship services company have been established in Hongkou.
World-renowned cruise companies like Viking and Royal Caribbean have also set up regional headquarters at North Bund. According to Royal Caribbean, the 170,000-ton "Spectrum of the Seas" will return to Shanghai in April this year.
With the tourism industry heating up and the enhancement of administrative services, Hongkou's cruise sector is embarking on a new chapter of development this year.
(Caption: Maritime authorities board the ship for information collection.)