Don't Widen The Channels

According to an unscientific poll that's been running on this site, an overwhelming majority of readers do not believe that Bermuda should widen the channels into its harbours in order to accommodate larger cruise ships.

Mega Cruise Ships

Should Town Cut and Two Rock Passage be widened in order to accommodate the mega ships in St. George's and Hamilton? [212 votes total] No (166) 78% Yes (40) 19% Not sure (6) 3%

Dr. Ewart Brown's announcement last week suggested that widening of Town Cut at least may not be necessary; the same may be true of Two Rock Passage. If the results of this poll are anything to go by, most people will certainly be hoping that's the case.

Comments

[Q.Cann on 09.07.05 at 09:46]

In the Carribean, the cost/benifit of mega cruise ship passenger impact on land based infrastructure is negative, unless these development costs are assumed by the cruise ship companies. Has this question been raised by my fellow Bermudians?

[Comment copied from poll comments]

[bus guy on 09.07.05 at 09:47]

St. George cannot deal with when there is a cruise ship in on a tuesday morning. Tobacco Bay = Full. Fort st. Catherines Beach = Full. Busses leaving St. George = Full. Taxi's = None. And most importantly "Has anyone considered the shoreline erosion from the back wash of the propellers"?

[Comment copied from poll comments]

[Sean on 09.07.05 at 09:47]

For years now, there have been laws (Especially on the North Shore) which prevents building or defacing the natural coastline. I've always been in support of this (considereing what we've built internally on the Island, SOMETHING should remain intact), so why should this suddenly change.

I think it's time for a change which will also directly affect tourism in general. Why can't we use the Naval Anex, which was originally built and dredged for large ships and move the Hamilton docks (Both Cargo and Tourism) there. Here is what I propose:

One side for the cruise ships, the other for the cargo. This will greatly free up some of the congestion in Hamilton, as well as enable us to create a boardwalk atmosphere, instead of looking at the broadside of a ship all day. There is so much we can do to develop that space into something we can all admire.

I can already hear people saying, but what about the shops, well read on....At the Naval Anex there will be "Nothing" there except for toilets, the main ferry terminal, bus terminal, taxi terminal and a dock specifically built for water taxis (Ahhh a new line of revenue for the tourist industry). As there is nothing there it will encourage people to move to different points of the Island, but we will all have to work together to make this happen. Ferry schedules should be better, with more frequent trips to Dockyard, Hamilton and St. Georges. Water Taxies should have corresponding water taxi docks in each of these locations as well. We will also need the shops/cities (St.Geos, and Dockyrd) to also work together to entice tourists to visit each place which can be advertised at the dock at the Naval Anex.

The trick is to ensure that the tourists can get around as easily as possible(This will also increase Gov'ment coffers), as well as make them want to go (something we need to do a bit better on the Island in general).

So that's about it in a nutshell (Omitting finer details), I'm curious to see what people think....

[Comment copied from poll comments]

[Advocatus Diaboli on 09.07.05 at 09:48]

Has Govt. thought about how much more water these mega ships will consume? We are currently enduring the worst drought in 50 years and the islands water lense is dangerously low and in danger of reaching the salt water. Bigger cruise ships realy don't make any sense to me.

[Comment copied from poll comments]

[The Limey on 09.07.05 at 09:49]

The mega cruise ships will actually consume less of our water than the current variety as they are capable of carrying enough to sustain themselves throughout their voyage.

[ethiops on 09.07.05 at 12:23]

Cruise ships bring alot of people fact. What type of spender though? I'd say the lets buy a tee-shirt, ash tray and and a bottle of beach sand type. Instead of opening the harbor why not focus on getting middle class americans back in bermuda's hotels and guest houses so the locals can also benifit from their presence.

[Edwardo on 09.07.05 at 17:11]

Town Cut. For what it's worth I offer the following comments.
Some years ago Gov't Engineer, the late
Ernie Owen, went to the Netherlands to study
ship channel engineering with a view to
widening the channel at St George .
To my knowledge, work was done at this time to the maximum he thought would be permissible for environmental and safety concerns.Have these parameters changed?

His files should still be available at Works engineering.

[Somers on 11.07.05 at 08:32]

The mega cruise ships will actually consume less of our water than the current variety as they are capable of carrying enough to sustain themselves throughout their voyage.
Posted by: The Limey | 09.07.05 09:49

Call me crazy - but with all that water onboard I find it highly doubtful they would be able to have enough depth in Hamilton. In years gone by I heard that ships actually emptied the pool water in order to get in through Two Rock without bumping the bottom. In any event the WHOLE harbor will have to be dredged... lets not kid ourselves. We aren't only talking about slicing Two Rock wider.

[Raptor on 22.08.05 at 08:24]

CNN has an article online today about mega cruise ships--"vessels bigger than aircraft carriers." It's hard to see how Bermuda can compete with their shopping malls, ice-skating rinks, miniature golf courses, art auctions, etc. They're set up for people who can't imagine being "bored." Why would they want to come ashore?

The first modern cruise ship held 560 people, but one coming out next year will hold 4370. Downsides? "Long buffet lines and fights over deck chairs," one passenger says.

Antigua spent $22 million to accommodate the larger ships, but it's "unclear whether the Freedom class will fit there." Then they worry about whether they can even continue to attract these vessels as passengers' tastes change! Miami is spending $350 to make improvements in their port and infracstructure.

There is real concern among environmentalists about how waste is to be handled.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/08/19/supersize.cruise.ships.ap/index.html

[Ethiops on 22.08.05 at 08:35]

Raptor

Interesting point makes one think bermuda shouldn't allow them to come here. Ok so they'll pay a tax to come ashore, but what will be the price paid by our shores to house such large deposits of defecated matter.

[Tiger Bay on 22.08.05 at 08:47]

Oh the painful irony to simultaneously talk about sustainable development and destroying significant marine habitat/landmass to accomodate megaships.

Go snorkelling on north shore: look at the sand piled up on top of - and smothering - the reefs by the cruiseships shuttling up and down the channel.

[Better Change on 22.08.05 at 10:13]

Build a dock on the outside and bus em in. Say no to widening the channels.

[Full Fullish on 22.08.05 at 10:20]

I still think that the naval anex would be the best place for all of the ships....being built for large ships and all. It's not like it's being used for anything else.

[on 22.08.05 at 10:37]

imagine the stench of the port if they were to bring in the real big ships ewwww

[save d cut on 24.08.05 at 13:42]

I am so gald to have this topic higlighted today for it is one that I have enormous interest. As they say in the "HOUSE"..."Let me declare my interests"!

I live by the Town Cut.

As a friend of a cruise ship industry emlpoyee, I have asked several questions that directly negate statments made by the towns mayor. Now I dont claim that these answeres were of aabsolute truth, however I am working on going higher up to make sure the answers are valid.

On myth is that the ship will no longer make smaller ships. Is that really true?
My answer was no. That is what we are being led to believe in order to sell the idea of Blast and Dredge.

One example give to me was the Galapagos Island. They have cruise ship. Their government did not move a rock or reef for them. They were of the idea that if you want to come here change your ship not our country. Its like saying move the Pyramids...they are in the way of future greed. Its simply crazy. Since when do we let the cruise ship industry run this country and and make decisions.
I feel that this is a beautiful destination and if ships want to be here, make them so they fit here.

There are all sorts of other things to consider.
1. What will it do to the sourrounding properties? I was talking one day to some old timers that explained last time it was blasted, properties along that street had problems wtih their tanks cracking.
2.Trash?
3.Sewage?
4.Congestion?
5.The long tails??????

I can not see any benefit to the everyday Bermudian except for the few that sell Tshirts and sand.
Anyway, can someone name one just one other country that has 3 mega ports in 21 square miles?

[Raptor on 24.08.05 at 14:12]

save d cut: You're right; that article I referred to earlier in this thread talks about the range in ship sizes--they are out there. Bermuda is close enough to the East Coast that people will want to come on ships, even if they don't come by the thousands on one ship. Bermuda is too small.

[Raptor on 24.08.05 at 14:14]

Whoops, hit the wrong button. I was going to say that St. George's should not be butchered to accommodate a mega ship. They can use tenders or just use smaller ships.

[save d cut on 24.08.05 at 14:24]

Making ship more fuel efficient is great. Please dont be fooled into believing they will now travel to further away destinations and leave Bermuda out of the loop. That may happen, however,I think it will just save gas when they come.

[save d cut on 24.08.05 at 14:44]

Raptor, I am having a bit of trouble finding that article. Keeps saying "page cannot be displayed"
I would love to read it.
Are you sure of the link?

[save d cut on 24.08.05 at 14:49]

How serious is everyone out there that disagrees with the Blast and Dredge in stopping it? Without getting radical what can be done?

It seems when certain minds are set on something they will find the support. I bet the 19 people that said yes in the poll are not from St. George.

[Raptor on 24.08.05 at 15:13]

save d cut: Here it is--

CRUISE SHIPS GETTING BIGGER: causing some port and passenger trouble
CNN, Friday, August 19, 2005

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Cruise lines have been battling for decades to outclass their competitors' ships by making vessels longer, bigger and full of amenities like mall-size promenades and ice skating rinks. What started as small refurbished ferries with little to do onboard have turned into vessels bigger than aircraft carriers.

Carnival Corp. & plc, the top cruise operator, launched the world's largest passenger ship last year: The luxury liner Queen Mary 2 stretches nearly four football fields. But the monarch's reign isn't lasting long: rival Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will start sailing an even bigger ship next year, the Freedom of the Seas.

As the industry builds ships that keep getting bigger to meet growing demand, these megaships also create new problems. The lines have to balance the preferences of passengers who want flashy new amenities with those who are looking for quiet vacations. Many ports say these vessels make it tough to process thousands of people in just a few hours. Environmental groups also complain that bigger ships mean more pollution.

Cruise executives say they have worked to relieve those problems. For example, passengers can now check in online to reduce congestion at the port.

Nevertheless, most passengers are clearly happy with the massive ships. Passenger numbers have risen an average of about 8 percent a year for more than a decade.

"A cruise on the big new ships is primarily what people want to buy. People are clearly voting with their wallets," said Adam Goldstein, president of the Royal Caribbean International brand. "We would be very happy to operate smaller ships if they could generate greater profitability than the big ships, but they don't."

The industry also isn't shunning smaller ships altogether, said Micky Arison, chairman and chief executive of Carnival. He noted that Carnival's 79 ships can hold anywhere from 150 to 3,800 passengers.

"We've got ships for all different types of people and all different sizes, just like the hotel industry. There's some people that love hotels like Bellagio, and others -- I'm staying in a hotel right now with I think six rooms," Arison said.

The first modern cruise ship in the 1960s held just 560 passengers and in the 1980s, the Carnival Cruise Lines brand got three new ships that could hold nearly 1,800 each. At the time, many observers wondered if there were enough travelers to fill them and even Arison has said the move was "a little bit crazy."

Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas will be able to hold 4,370 passengers. Carnival is kicking around the idea of building a ship to take the title back, but it doesn't have any firm plans.

Pressure on destinations

Frequent cruiser Lee Schwartzberg hopes the companies don't get too caught up in the race to outsize one another. She is turned off by megaships' long buffet lines and fights over deck chairs.

"I can go to a mall at home. I go cruising to relax," said the 42-year-old catalog director for a mail-order company from Warwick, New York.

But Miriam Romain loves giant vessels because she's able to play miniature golf and people-watch. Romain, a 45-year-old from Chicago who hosts an online forum on CruiseCritic.com, gets excited just talking about these ships. She says there's a never-ending list of activities -- art auctions, bar hopping, people watching.

"If you get bored, you're not looking in the right places," she said.

All those amenities and the size of those ships mean they cost more than $800 million to build, but they can save cruise lines money. Operating bigger ships lets them carry more passengers and that extra revenue more than offsets the cost of investment over time, said Bill Warlick, a senior director at Fitch Ratings.

Carnival posted a 40 percent increase in net income to $735 million for the six months ended May 31 on $4.92 billion in revenue, up 16 percent from last year. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. reported $290 million in net income during the first half of 2005, up 33 percent from last year; revenue grew 8 percent to $2.2 billion.

"The larger companies with the stronger balance sheets are in the position to lay out solid capital and generate consistent returns," Warlick said.

But maneuvering and fitting those ships into ports puts pressure on destinations, especially smaller ones. For example, Antigua's port recently spent $22 million to accommodate larger ships, but it's unclear whether the Freedom class will fit there, said Antigua Pier Group Ltd. director Cameron Fraser.

"We would find it difficult, as many other small ports would so recently after preparation for larger vessels, to raise the sort of capital required for another significant round of dredging," he said.

Fraser said many smaller ports are also worried that cruise ships might avoid them as passengers' tastes change: "There is always a concern that new trends, new destinations may undermine your ability to attract the industry."

Even massive ports have trouble with megaships. The Port of Miami is spending $350 million to make improvements to handle more people. They include better roads, bigger parking garages and two new terminals. Post-September 11 security requirements also mean more port improvements.

"We have to be able to accommodate them and they come with a larger logistics challenges in the amount of time that is required," director Charles A. Towsley said. "No one envisioned the industry as we see it today and we've continued to reinvent ourselves."

Cruise lines also say that the newer, larger ships have better technology that protects the environment from the sewage and other pollution that vessels produce, but they don't convince environmentalists.

"As cruise ships continue to grow in size, we'll continue to see ever-increasing amounts of pollution," said Russell Long, founder of the environmental group Bluewater Network. "Since today's vessels are equivalent to small cities in size, the volume of waste discharged every day is rapidly growing."

[SmokingGun on 24.08.05 at 15:50]

"The industry also isn't shunning smaller ships altogether, said Micky Arison, chairman and chief executive of Carnival. He noted that Carnival's 79 ships can hold anywhere from 150 to 3,800 passengers.

"We've got ships for all different types of people and all different sizes, just like the hotel industry. There's some people that love hotels like Bellagio, and others -- I'm staying in a hotel right now with I think six rooms," Arison said."

I think Ewart Brown and every single Hotel/Guest House operator should make a copy of this qoute and send it to every cruise operator who does business with Bermuda. We are a one stop destination with limited resources and an above average standard of living. The big boats are for multi-port stops. Send smaller ships to Bermuda and charge a little more.

[save d cut on 24.08.05 at 16:26]

Raptor,
Thank you.
Interesting!

SmokingGun,
It would be nice to see Bermuda as a destination once again vs. a cruise ship that is the vacation which just happpens to stop here.

[SmokingGun on 24.08.05 at 17:18]

Save d cut, I completely agree with you. Bermuda needs to turn back time and create incentive for the cruise ships to stay loyal with smaller ships and cater to the demographics that Bermuda has to offer. This means getting people off the ships to spend money and creating on island entertainment. It also means revenue sharing with the cruise companies as a whole package. Or even allowing land based visitors and locals onto the ships to help boost revenue.

[Shree Cents on 24.08.05 at 19:17]

How much is it going to cost us to make these "super ports" and at the end of the day are we guaranteed bang or should I say "pop and sizzle"
for bucks. The world is a very different place from the 70's & 80's when our tourism seemed to have reached it's peak and maxed out. Maybe tourism as a major plank of the economy is soon to become a thing of the past.For what tourism spends, especially what the Minister spends on travel are we getting a fair return for our money. Maybe some of that money could be better spent on other things....education....housing..seniors!!!!You get the drift. Simply widening the channels does not mean more income to the country. Might just mean more cheap, have a good time on the boat American tourist.

[save d cut on 24.08.05 at 19:26]

After reading Dr. Brown's announcement in the Bermuda Sun, I am puzzled. Why does he think St. Georges has to be modified. It received it world heritage status just the way it is. As a matter of fact it was because of the way it is.

There is one way we can fix the problem....get rid of the ships and Dr. Brown can support the shops writing them large cardboard suppliment checks out of his travel allowance.

[Tiger Bay on 25.09.05 at 21:41]

Kim Swan points out that the massive cost to destroy the cuts is total folly because air travellers pump $435 million a year into the local economy, compared to the $42 million spent by cruise passengers. Invest in the right places! A mere portion of the fortune it would take to destroy our marine ecosystem would build a great conference centre - buttressing our business sector and attracting visitors who stay and spend.

Telling point in the paper also on the absolute isolation of Dr Brown and the Dept of Tourism from the actual business. Mike Winfield, head of the hotel association, says that they are trying to get a meeting next month with Dr. Brown regarding how Bermuda's ad message is not directed towards those who spend money here. It takes a month to get a meeting???!!!

Just wait til you get a little GlobalHue - then you'll really see how much more "off message" our ads can be.

[Tiger Bay on 17.11.05 at 11:20]

Our bud Walter Roban was in the news yesterday.

He said that the Waterfront Task Force will make recommendations on the nature of port development for every port on the Island.
He again clarified that there were no plans, nor had there ever been, to alter Hamilton or St. George's ports to accommodate the mega-ships.

"Wedco is the only place that was considered for the larger ships," he said.

[SmokingGun on 17.11.05 at 11:58]

Staying with the theme, EB's just making room for his newest campaign: "Prop & Swizzle". Bigger boats and more boozers for his buddie's Cuban Rum.