T

he Legend of the Seas, a cruise ship that can carry 3,000 passengers and crew, made the record books on Monday when it became the first ocean liner to berth at Benoa harbor.

“This is a historic event for Bali and Indonesia. Hopefully, it will attract the interest of other cruise lines,” Benoa harbor master Iwan Sabatini said.

Large cruise ships, which previously anchored offshore and used smaller vessels to bring passengers ashore, could now use the piers at Benoa, following a dredging and rock removal program, Sabatini said.

“The ships could not dock at the harbor’s wharf because there were underwater rock mounds that blocked their approach,” Sabatini said.

Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said during a visit to Benoa last year that the government would build a special zone for cruise liners in the harbor.

The zone would consist of a 975-meter-long and 750-meter-wide wharf and other structures at a cost of Rp 4 trillion (US$440 million), Mari said.

Sabatini was enthusiastic about the project. “We hope that the construction of the wharf will commence soon. So far, we have increased the depth of the waterway to 9 meters. We will continue the dredging until the depth reaches 11 meters,” he said.

Benoa harbor was visited by 35 cruise liners, each carrying 1,000 to 3,000 passengers, in 2011, up from 28 liners in 2010.

“In 2012, 38 cruise liners have confirmed plans to visit Bali,” Sabatini said, adding that Benoa was previously named Best Port Welcome by the prestigious, London-based Dream World Cruise Destination magazine.

“It means that we have already succeeded in gaining international attention and we will work hard to improve our services,” he said.

In the last few years, the harbor authority has improved the port’s facilities to turn it into a world-class operation, including renovations of the port’s mooring capability, its waiting areas and its parking facilities.

Bali Tourism Agency head IB Kade Subhiksu said that the number of foreign visitors to Bali arriving by sea had increased in the last two years, topping 31,000 in 2011, up more than 11 percent from 28,000 in 2010.

“Prior to 2010, the number was usually around 5,000 visitors per year,” he said, adding that the cruise passengers mostly came from the US and European countries.

“January to April is the period during which the cruise liners usually arrive in Bali,” Subhiksu added.

Despite the increase, Subhiksu said that the number was still small when compared to the number of foreign visitors arriving through Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar.

In 2011, the resort island was visited by more than 2.7 million foreign visitors, most of whom arrived at Ngurah Rai.

“However, I am optimistic that the numbers will keep growing in the future, particularly since the central and local administrations have launched serious efforts to improve facilities and services at the island’s ports designated as cruise liners harbors,” he said.

The designated ports are Benoa in south Denpasar, and Tanah Ampo and Padangbai in Karangasem regency.

The Legend of the Seas, owned by Royal Caribbean International, will remain berthed at Benoa until Wednesday.