a new season which could be one of the busiest ever.

The Fred Olsen Cruise Line vessel Blackwatch berthed in Hamilton on Friday with 630 people on board. It departed the same day, en route from the Bahamas to the Azores.

The season proper begins in April, when the regular callers begin their summer schedule. This year there will be two new ships berthing each week.

The Pacific Princess is to replace the Horizon schedule, which is now taking on the route of the Norwegian Crown , which was taken off the Bermuda run in the off-season.

In addition, the Crown Dynasty will become the Island's first weekend vessel, arriving at Dockyard on Friday and leaving on a Monday.

There will also be some scheduled one-off callers again, with ships from Seabourn Cruises, V-Ships Monaco, Cunard, Premier Cruises and Holland America Line.

Meanwhile, 175 vehicles and 24 crates of spare parts came in on the car ship Harmony Ace . The vessel came into Hamilton on Monday and left yesterday, heading for Panama and Japan, reported Julian Sykes of Freisenbruch-Meyer Group.

Container Ship Management had 126 dry and 30 refrigerated containers come in on the Oleander . The ship, which sailed yesterday, also brought in three road trailers.