Norwegian Cruise Line will establish operations in Panama as a base port

In order to establish Norwegian Cruise Line operations as a base port in Colón and Amador as of March 2022, the general administrator of the Panama Tourism Authority (ATP), Iván Eskildsen, and the legal representative of the company NCL Bahamas LTD, Howard Sherman (Executive Vice President Onboard Revenue and Destination Services), signed a cooperation agreement.

The objective of signing this agreement is for Panamanian ports to be used by this company as a base port, during the cruise seasons of 2022, 2023 and 2024, supported by the incentives established in Executive Decree 35 of 2019, and DE 73 and 274 of 2020.

NCL Bahamas LTD, based in Miami, United States, is a world leader in cruises and operates the Norwegian Cruse Line, Ocenia Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands, which maintain a combined fleet of 28 ships, with approximately 59,150 beds (berths ) and 34,000 collaborators.

In the cruises, videos of Panama as a destination and of excursions in Panama will be transmitted, and the company will promote its itineraries of Panama as a base port through its social networks and other paid media. The company also undertakes to procure the acquisition and supply of industrial and agro-industrial products in the Republic of Panama, according to its needs.

Para hacerse acreedor de los incentivos, la empresa NCL Bahamas LTD tiene que presentar a la ATP evidencia del pago de los peajes en un documento emitido por la Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP) y comprobar que un mínimo del 80% de los pasajeros embarcados son extranjeros. Para las operaciones que se realicen durante el 2022 se concederá un 80% del pago del peaje; en 2023, el 70%, y en 2024, el 60%.

Considering that a cruise passenger who boards a ship usually stays two days on average in the home port city, an economic impact of $ 6 million per year and income for the government of approximately $ 3.5 million is estimated, taking into account the incremental income that will be received by the Panama canal. This does not include purchases made by ships of Panamanian products. The total of base port operations scheduled for 2022 are 6 and for 2023 there are an additional 10; There are also 18 scheduled transit operations through Panama in 2022 and 20 in 2023.