Rio, January 12, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Port of Rio de Janeiro is starting preparations to receive the world's biggest cruise ship, the Queen Mary 2, which arrives in Brazil on February 21. Dredging operations will get underway today in three parts of the Guanabara Bay to allow the Queen Mary 2 access to the port.

According to the Dock Company, which administers ports in the state, 80 thousand cubic meters of sediment will be removed from the access channel, the turning bay (area for ship maneuvers), and next to the docking pier. The dredging will increase the depth of the port from 9.7 to 10.6 meters, sufficient to receive the Queen Mary 2, which has a draft of over 10 meters.

The project, budgeted at R$ 1.7 million, will be executed by two dredges and a steam shovel and will be completed in 25 days. The Dock Company also informed that responsibility for improvements in the passenger terminal pertains to the firm that administers the Mauá Pier.

The arrival of the Queen Mary 2, with over 2,600 passengers, according to the president of the Dock Company, Antônio Carlos Soares, "will be the high point of Rio de Janiero's current cruise ship season. During this period our city is receiving more than 90 thousand ocean-going tourists, consolidating Rio's vocation for tourism." (DAS)