6 int'l cruise ships cancel docking at Hualien following April quake

Taipei, July 6 (CNA) Six out of the 13 international cruise ships scheduled to dock at Hualien Port this year have canceled their planned visits to Taiwan following the magnitude 7.2 earthquake which devastated Hualien on April 3, the Hualien branch of Taiwan International Ports Corp. (TIPC) said on Friday.

At a TIPC press conference, TIPC official Lu Chan-yu (盧展猷) said that while the main structures of Hualien Port remain unaffected by the earthquake, severe damage to the famous tourist spot Taroko National Park has impacted the willingness of international cruise ships to dock.

In addition to the six cruise ships that have canceled their stops at Hualien, four cruise ships docked at Hualien Port in February and March, the branch said, adding that it was still unclear whether the remaining three ships scheduled to stop by Hualien in October and December will dock as planned.

To increase the willingness of international cruise ships to dock at Hualien Port after the earthquake, the branch previously announced that from April 25 to Dec. 31, the passenger service fee and port area maintenance fee for international cruise ships docking at Hualien Port will be waived, on top of the existing incentive measures.

However, these measures aimed at helping the local economy recover have been unsuccessful so far.

As for other ports in Taiwan, according to TIPC statistics, Keelung Port is expected to receive 193 international cruise ship visits this year, approximately 65 percent of the pre-pandemic 297 visits in 2019.

In addition, there are approximately 30 international cruise ship visits expected for Kaohsiung Port this year, exceeding the 29 visits recorded in 2019.