On Wednesday, Libya and Turkey resumed cruise ship services, after a 25-year break.
The cruise ship, Kevalay Queen arrived at Izmir Port, after departing from the Libyan city of Misrata. This is part of efforts to re-start cruise ship services, in partnership with Karanfil Group, Kevalay Tourism, and the Libya Iron and Steel Company (LISCO).
The launch of the cruise line comes within the framework of the Libyan government’s efforts to promote partnership between the public and private sectors.
“The Government of National Unity (GNU) has contributed to overcoming all the difficulties and obstacles that faced the implementation of this project,” a statement read. “We are in the process of taking several special measures, in agreement with the Egyptian, Tunisian, and Moroccan governments, to launch tourist cruise lines in the near future.”
“There is a good demand for this cruise line, even though it’s not summertime. In the first trip, there are about 220 passengers, and the trip takes about 48 hours,” Taha Hadid, Spokesman of the Misrata maritime station.
In August, the Chairman of the Turkish-Libyan Business Council, Morteza Kronfel said that the volume of trade exchange between Turkey and Libya amounted to $3.6 billion dollars.
Korenfel noted that four cruises will travel to Libya per month, with a total capacity of 900 passenger beds, 400 cars, and 1,700 tons of cargo.
The Turkish official described the trade exchange with Libya as “a gateway to trade with the entire African continent, given Libya’s geostrategic location. We seek to expand the Turkish cruise network to Libya, so that it departs from Istanbul to Benghazi and Misrata.”
In August, Libyan Parliament Speaker, Ageela Saleh visited Turkey, during which he met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament. He described the meeting as “very productive.”
According to Turkey’s news agency, Yeni Shafak, Saleh said he wanted support from Ankara for the preservation of Libya’s territorial integrity. He added that he informed President Erdogan about the current political situation in Libya.