Oslo is ready to start expanding its cruise berth infrastructure as soon as it is given the green light by the city planning authorities. ’The port authority would like to go ahead with extending Vippetangkaia, where currently small ships up to 200mtr in length can berth, located just south of the city’s main cruise berth at Sondre Akershuskai,’ said Margrethe Austad, marketing manager Oslo Port Authority.
The plan calls for lengthening the pier up to 700mtr, offering a berth measuring 1,000mtr including Akershuskai. An area between the two berths would need to be filled in to provide the continuous quay, Austad added.

A new terminal is also envisaged, possibly the fish auction hall which could be reconfigured. ‘The plans are drawn up, we have the money and it could be completed within three years,’ Austad told Seatrade Insider and cruise line executives during a site inspection today in the Norwegian capital.

An alternative new cruise berth location championed by the city authorities, hinted Austad, would be to build a pier alongside the existing Color Line berth west of the 400mtr-long Filipstadkaia, where cruise turnaround calls are now conducted.

The idea would be to offer two additional berths for cruise ships, one for large vessels and one for smaller on the other side, and to construct a new terminal to be shared by Color Line and cruise operations. ’This option would be the more expensive of the two plans,’ Austad said.
During a harbour tour by tug, cruise line representatives also saw the cruise berth at Revierkaia, suitable for ships up to 300mtr and located in the old port and within walking distance of the new Opera House.

The tour was part of a week-long visit to Norway by cruise line executives representing Carnival UK, Cruise & Maritime Services, Silversea, Fred. Olsen, Thomson, TUI and Royal Caribbean, organised by Cruise Norway and partners plus Nordic Cruise Services, DMC, European Cruise Service, SAS and Hurtigruten.

After the port visit, the group took a trip by boat to Bygdøy to see its collection of museums showcasing Norway’s maritime heritage including polar exhibition ship Fram, the Kon Tiki raft, The Viking Ships and Maritime Museum. ‘This place is amazing,’ remarked Rick Strunck, itinerary planning veteran and independent consultant, on his first visit to Oslo. ‘There is no other port I can think of where it is possible to see so many fascinating museums within such a short distance of each other,' he remarked.

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