Glasgow has once again welcomed another huge ship with the arrival of the MS Romantika.
The giant cruiseferry, operated by Tallink, is one of two ships which will be berthed in our city to provide accommodation during the upcoming COP26 climate change conference.
Now safely berthed at the King George V dock in Shieldhall, by Braehead Shopping Centre, video captured the Romantika sailing up the Clyde on Tuesday. The impressive vessel departed from Tangier, Morocco, for Glasgow on October 6.
The MS Romantika usually operates on a ferry route between Stockholm, Sweden and Riga, Latvia, and has an estimated capacity for 2,500 passengers and 300 cars.
It is set to be joined in Glasgow by fellow Tallink ship the MS Silja Europa in the coming days, with a charter agreement in place for use of the vessel between October 17 and November 17. The Silja Europa is currently berthed in the Estonian capital Tallinn.
Announcing both ships were due to arrive in Glasgow for the COP26 summit, Paavo Nõgene, Tallink Grupp’s CEO, said: "We are pleased that we have been able to demonstrate to our good cooperation partners this year that we have extremely good vessels suitable not only for travelling and transport, but also for accommodation services, that we have very capable crew and staff who can deliver exceptional results and service levels under great pressure and in very complex circumstances, and that Tallink Grupp can very quickly, flexibly and professionally meet the needs of even the most complex events and requirements.
"Our team helped the G7 Cornwall summit organising team achieve a great outcome in June this year, two of our vessels and technical crew are performing well in the Mediterranean at present and I am sure we will rise to the challenge also at COP26 in Scotland."
In August, the last of three huge cruise ships docked in Glasgow departed after months spent in our city during the pandemic.
Due to the suspension of the cruise industry as a result of the pandemic, cruise lines were required to moor vessels in ports worldwide.
And with UK ports berthing cruise vessels on a temporary basis, including at Rosyth, Tilbury, Bristol and Southampton, Glasgow was chosen as the location to moor the Azamara fleet, including the Azamara Journey, Pursuit and Quest - which all had skeleton crews of around 40 crew members on board.
Around 30,000 people, including world leaders and dignitaries, are expected to visit the city in November for the COP26 international summit on climate change.
The conference, which takes place between Sunday, October 31 and November 12, is set to be one of the largest events ever hosted in the UK.
UPDATE: The MS Silja Europa docked at Greenock yesterday afternoon (Thursday) and Tallink have since confirmed to Glasgow Live it will remain their for the duration of its stay.
