Largest cruise ship of the season arrives at Lerwick port

Costa Fortuna arriving at Lerwick Harbour today is the largest cruise ship in the port’s busy 2022 cruise season. Photo: Melanie Henderson

Lerwick Harbour’s largest cruise ship of the season, the 102,587 tonne Costa Fortuna, has arrived in Shetland.

Costa Cruises’ 272-metre-long vessel, with accommodation spanning 13 passenger decks, is carrying 1,443 guests of 29 different nationalities, predominantly German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch.

Costa Fortuna arrived from Ijmuiden, Netherlands, on a 15-day Northern Europe round-trip.

The ship anchored in the deep-water harbour, with passengers taken to Lerwick town centre by tenders.

A full day of shore excursions are planned.

Lerwick Port Authority’s cruise and marketing manager Melanie Henderson said: “Costa Fortuna is another demonstration of the harbour’s capacity to handle a wide range of vessel sizes – 38 so far this season, including eight maiden calls.

“A record of over 100 ship arrivals is scheduled with the final visit in October, highlighting that the recovery in activity post-Covid is well underway, making an important contribution to the Shetland economy.”