Alex Trelinski
BARCELONA has banned all cruise ships from docking at the city’s most central port from October 22 in a bid to reduce emissions in the city centre.
It means passengers will not be able to disembark at the northern Muelle Barcelona docks next to the World Trade Centre- just a short walk away to major attractions.
They instead will have to use the southern port at Moll Adossat pier, which already is used without any issue by major operators like Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises.
Port of Barcelona president, Lluis Salvado, said: ‘We are pushing the pollution away, towards the south and reducing the emissions that reach the city.’
“‘The closure of the Barcelona northern docks for cruise operations is a new step to comply with the agreement signed in 2018 with the Barcelona municipal government to eliminate the negative impact that this activity could produce for citizens,” he added.
In practical terms, tourists arriving at Moll Adossat pier will now have to use a shuttle bus to get to the city.
For example, a bus journey will take 30 minutes to Las Ramblas, as opposed to ten minutes on foot from the Muelle docks site.
A new limit has also been imposed on how many cruise ships can dock at Barcelona’s ports – the number of available docking areas for cruisers will be cut from ten to seven on October 22.
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