MEDCRUISE JOINS EFFORTS WITH 2E3S TO DEVELOP CRUISE PORT TRAINING

The Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports (MedCruise) and the Escola Europea de Short Sea Shipping (2E3S) formally agreed today to collaborate in the creation of a professional development course, Ports and Passenger Shipping, the first to be offered to MedCruise member ports’ staff. The course will to take place from 24 to 27 November, 2007, aboard a deluxe Grimaldi Line ferry traveling from Barcelona and calling at Genoa. Laurent Monsaingeon, MedCruise president and director of the French Riviera ports; José Torrado, MedCruise professional development director and president of the port of Ceuta; Jordi Valls, 2E3S and Barcelona port president, and Eduard Rodés, 2E3S Director, met at the Port of Barcelona to sign the collaboration agreement. This agreement allows MedCruise, with its experience and involvement in the cruise industry, to join efforts with 2E3S, a European Commission-sponsored educational institution that provides port industry professionals with management training in commercial and passenger shipping in Europe and in the Mediterranean. 2E3S was founded in September 2006, by the Barcelona Port Authority in cooperation with the ports of Civitavecchia and Genoa, Grandi Navi Veloci, and the Grimaldi Naples group. 2E3S’s main purpose is to develop academic courses and other activities related to short sea shipping to promote this modality of maritime transport. MedCruise offers this course to its members’ staff as part of its mission to encourage the application of best management practices at its member ports, to support the growth of the cruise industry in the Mediterranean and adjoining seas, and to promote the development and success of its cruise port members. The three-day-course will be taught by a team of cruise industry executives, government leaders and port executives. The programme’s coursework includes a wide range of subjects from the economics of the cruise line, diversifying shore excursions, port security and emergency management, cruise itinerary planning, passenger terminal design, managing port congestion, and tours of the state-of-the-art passenger terminal facilities in both Barcelona and Genoa.