Plaque exchange takes place between Captain and Port Management
Port of St. Maarten Management, a member of the Supervisory Board of Directors and staff welcomed on Friday the Norwegian Breakaway to the destination. The ship has been awarded the ‘best new ship’ by Cruise Critic Editor’s Picks Awards.
Captain Hakan Svendung stated he was happy once again to be back in St. Maarten. Svendung visited the island before on the Norwegian Epic and Dawn.
Hector Peters, Port of St. Maarten General & Governmental Affairs representative welcomed Captain Hakan Svendung to the destination before presenting him with a real-time plaque showing the vessel docking at Pier 1 on Friday morning.
Captain Svendung was very impressed and told those gathered for the presentation that he would put the plaque up on the bridge.
The Breakaway was in port with 4031 passengers and 1653 crew for total complement of 5684. The cruise vessel started its itinerary from New York City with stops in San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.
"Norwegian Cruise Lines is one of our best clients and we value the cruise lines relationship with the Port of St. Maarten and with the destination. They are a partner in the cruise business and we work together with them and the other cruise lines to make sure the country maintains its position as premier destination in this part of the region," Chief Executive Officer of the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies Mark Mingo said on Friday.
Norwegian Cruise Line has been named ‘Caribbean’s Leading Cruise Line,’ by World Travel Awards
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) took delivery of the 146,600 gross tonnage Breakaway in April 2013. The vessel carries 4,000 cruise passengers and 1,650 crew and is 1063 feet long and 130 feet wide. The Norwegian Breakaway was built at the German Meyer Werft shipyard.
In 2013 the Port of St. Maarten surpassed the cruise record of 2012 where the destination catered to 1.785.670 million cruise passengers.
Also at the port to welcome the vessel and plaque exchange was a representative from the Tourist Bureau and Water Taxi Service.
PHOTO CUTLINE: Norwegian Breakaway Captain Hakan Svendung receiving a plaque from Port Management representative Hector Peters while Renald Williams of the Port Supervisory Board of Directors looks on.