A sustainable, secure cruise industry from scratch

"There are ambitious goals, at the same time we want to minimise environmental impacts," says Ms Buczek. "The cruise industry already ranks among those industries with the highest wastewater discharge standards and in practice its water needs, a key topic in the Middle East, are low compared with other industries.

"Our commitment to doing the right thing in these areas is reflected in the investments we are making in water conservation and treatment. This includes specialised pool water treatment that returns cleaned water for reuse; advanced wastewater plants employing membrane bioreactor and other technologies to treat blackwater and greywater before discharging; and marine water desalination systems to minimise shore water needs. State-of-the-art incinerators will reduce ship waste up to 98%. Plastics, paper, glass, cooking oil, electronic waste and even photo development chemicals will get thoroughly sorted and recycled both on board and ashore via port facilities. Food waste is composted or offloaded to bio digesters and water treatment facilities."

Equally rigorous is the priority being given to cyber security and data protection considerations, says Ms Buczek. "Cruise Saudi follows international regulations like GDPR when handling customer information. It also adheres to recent robust Saudi data protection laws instituted to shield personal data. Biometric collection from cruise passengers aligns with global norms," she says.

To ease embarkation bottlenecks and speed up security screening, investment has been earmarked for virtual check-in and facial recognition, where passengers submit required forms, passport scans, and biometrics data via web portals or mobile apps ahead of arrival. Attachable luggage tags with embedded RFID chips interface with conveyor systems and scanners to identify and route baggage to the correct ship and stateroom automatically. And integrated security checkpoints will feature backscatter scanning technology, explosive trace detection, facial recognition cameras, radiation monitors and other sensors to non-invasively screen passengers and carry-on items.

As the guardian of all cruise infrastructure and scheduling, Cruise Saudi serves as the single point of contact for cruise lines. "We have dedicated teams offering personalised support and information to meet planning needs," she says. "A first-come first-served policy enables transparent berthing allocations across ports. Pricing practices align with global standards around cruise line contracts," she adds.

Cruise regulations are new for Saudi Arabia, admits Ms Buczek, and there is a particular determination to showcase global best practices and standards around issues such as passenger clearances. An evolutionary approach is being taken that allows the terminals, over time, to get familiar with cruise profiles and requirements. On current performance, expect rapid progress.

Sign up for Riviera’s series of technical and operational webinars and conferences:

• Register to attend by visiting our events page.
• Watch recordings from all of our webinars in the webinar library.