Southampton’s Horizon Cruise Terminal: drone shoot with Associated British Ports

On 3rd July 2021, we headed to the new Horizon Cruise Terminal at the Port of Southampton to capture the opening of the terminal and the arrival of its first passenger cruise ship, packing light and working fast for same-day PR distribution.

Passengers were welcomed into Southampton from aboard MSC Cruises’ MSC Virtuosa. Associated British Ports partnered with MSC Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. to build the new £55 million multi-user terminal, which, thanks to 2,000 roof-mounted solar panels, generates more power than it uses on a day-to-day basis.

Those solar panels — and the impressive MSC ship, of course! — were the focal point of our aerial imagery, which we’d been hired to shoot and edit right there in the port for quick syndication to BBC South Today and other news broadcasters.

We were the only production crew on site, so flight planning wasn’t as tricky as it often tends to be for jobs where the BBC, ITV, etc. are also filming or going on air!

Our friends at Solent Stevedores (see some of our work with them here) were managing the loading and offloading of the ship, so it was nice to see some familiar faces.

MSC Virtuosa looked incredible from above. The top deck has a whole waterpark on it! And we were told the inside boasts a cinema, spas, and even a robot that serves cocktails!

Thank you to Hayley Griffith for thinking of us when the Association of British Ports, for whom Hayley does some freelance marketing, sought out a professional drone photography team for this project.

See more of our naval, maritime, and at-sea aerial filmmaking and surveying work →