‘Nagoya, all aboard’, Costa Serena opens doors for athletes

Nagoya: The Italian cruise ship Costa Serena crossed the Pacific to dock at the Port of Nagoya on Tuesday morning. The cruise ship will house around 4,000 of the athletes during the multi-sport event, and other participants in the Games will be put up in Airbnbs, hotels and shipping-container-style huts in the dock area of Japan's biggest port.

"We are very pleased to welcome this 'ship hotel' here at Kinjo pier," Hideaki Ohmura, the President of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, said in a welcoming speech. "This marks the first time in Japan that such a facility is being used for accommodation during a major international sporting event. We are delighted to be able to host a large-scale international sporting event with this innovative form of accommodation."

The committee’s plan to rent out the large cruise to accommodate officials and athletes was to avoid massive outlays from building a Games village solely for a short-term event. The concept of a ‘Floating Village’ is the very first of its kind, renting out the cruise for an approximate cost of 280 crores for 22 days until the end of the event.

“Costa Serena is here for bigger cause this time, different from leisurely sails. The cruise will be home for athletes from and around the continent, sending a message unity and boundless camaraderie within Asia,” reacted the captain of the ship, Federico Sias.

The cruise is equipped with 17 decks, out of which 13 will be allotted for the athletes, consisting of 1500 rooms which can accommodate 4000 athletes at a time. In addition, it holds 8 swimming pool facilities and 12 restaurants, with 557 balconies heading out. The hotel menu will be replaced with nutritional supplies for the athletes, made from provisions collected from the Nagoya port.

There have been concerns raised regarding the practicality of a floating accommodation, especially with athletes requiring a stable setup guaranteeing ample rest. The instability of the ship docked in the water was pointed out by many Olympic Associations. Media reports have also been emerging regarding complaints raised by South Korean basketball players about the size of the beds in the shipping container-style huts on land that will be home to some 2,000 of the visitors.

"We are fully aware of the dissatisfaction and concerns voiced by the athlete delegations," accommodation manager Yuta Matsuo told Reuters. "However, we are not merely acknowledging these issues, we are already taking concrete steps to improve the environment for the athletes, including their living conditions during their stay."

Matsuo said the core concept of the accommodation program had been sustainability and that while everything had been approved by the Japanese Olympic Committee, he understood that other delegations would have specific needs. A resident centre operating 24 hours a day would be available to address any complaints or problems from athletes or officials. "In this way, we are making every effort to ensure that athletes do not have to remain anxious or worried for prolonged periods of time," he said.

Matsuo suggested that some of the cabins on the Costa Serena might be quite small but urged athletes to make the most of the extensive shared space on the ship. "We hope the delegation will consider the ship's facilities and relaxation options -- taking a comprehensive view rather than focusing solely on cabin size," he said.

The local organising committee maintains that the accommodation issue arose because they were expecting only 15,000 athletes and officials for the Games, only for numbers to increase as new sports were added. In a joint statement with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) last week, the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organising Committee said numbers would be capped at 17,000 with all of those guaranteed a place to stay.

The weather has also not helped, with several hundred athletes and officials briefly evacuated from their accommodation after torrential rain battered Nagoya last week. More heavy rain and flash floods are forecast for Wednesday.

The ship will be moored at Kinjo Pier through to the end of the event on October 4. Costa Serena will then set sail and head for its new tour from Japan to Korea.
(With inputs from Reuters).