Portland Port sees record cruise ship visitors

Portland Port said 56 cruise ships docked from April to November

More than 130,000 cruise ship passengers have visited Portland since April, the most in the port's 27-year history, its owners have said.

The port, which also hosts the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge, housing hundreds of asylum seekers, said its cruise ship business continued to grow.

It said 56 cruise ships docked in the eight months from April to November.

The first to use Portland's new £26m deep-water berth was the MSC Virtuosa on 28 April with 5,015 passengers.

Portland Port Group said this was the highest number of passengers on board a ship until the vessel returned in October with 6,025 people on board.

Commercial general manager Ian McQuade said: "We're grateful for the support of all of those who made 2023 such a successful year and helped us inject more than £10m into the local economy while raising the profile of the area and its many attractions."

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