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Minister confirms the mega-ship plan
by COLIN O'CONNOR
July 8, 2005MINISTER of Transport and Tourism Dr. Ewart Brown announced last week, in what sounded like a fait accompli, a "Ports Enhancement Project" which will see 950-foot mega-cruise ships in St. George's and Hamilton.
Former Minister of Tourism Jim Woolridge had lambasted the plan as further evidence that Bermuda continues to pursue an ever lower socio-economic demographic, in terms of the background and affluence of visitors, and he wasted no time in damning confirmation of the Minister's plans.
"'Enhancement' means 'to make greater in value, reputation, or usefulness', according to my dictionary, and it appears that the Minister has already assumed that his plan will do that," said Mr. Woolridge.
"In fact, it's a sell-out to the cruise lines, and it will certainly make Bermuda greater in value and usefulness to them, but at a considerable cost to our reputation among the type of people who we would like to welcome back – by air."
Dr. Brown acknowledged that the project "involves redeveloping our cruise ports to accommodate larger cruise ships", and although he said that it would only affect "some of our ports", he went on to describe a plan which would see mega-ships in both harbours and at Dockyard.
Despite saying five years ago that Bermuda did not want "huge cruise ships capable of carrying up to 3,000 passengers to dock at the islands", according to a report carried locally and by Reuters news agency, the Minister appears to have bowed to the wishes of the cruise ship industry.
"The reality is that most of the cruise ships coming to Bermuda today are the oldest, smallest and least profitable ships in the major cruise line fleets," he said last week, "and are slowly being sold off or scrapped. The ships that are replacing these older ships are in most cases larger in passenger capacity, length and width, with most too large to access Hamilton and St. George's."
The need to allow those behemoths to dock at Penno's Wharf in St.George's and in Hamilton is expected to require the widening and dredging of Town Cut and Two Rock Passage, but in a three and a half-page press release announcing the ports project and the formation of a "Waterfront Task Force", Dr. Brown made reference to "a review of possible modifications to Town Cut" but no mention of the work which would have to be done to ensure that these larger ships could safely transit Two Rock passage into Hamilton, or the environmental and aesthetic consequences thereof.
The Minister insisted that cruise ships "contribute significantly to our economy", but could only point to total Government and private sector revenues of $60 million annually (although his numbers totalled $64 million), which Mr. Woolridge derided as a "pittance in the overall scheme of things in Bermuda's economy".
"That amounts to no more than a few per cent of Bermuda's economy, and he seems unaware that the reason the cruise ships are packing even more people on to these massive ships is because they too are going down-market," he said.
"For the cruise lines, the economies of scale mean that it suits them to squeeze more people aboard who can only afford a trip that costs $150 a day."
Mr. Woolridge complained that Dr. Brown had talked only of revenues, but not of costs.
"He said that Government gets $18 million annually in various taxes and fees, although he reduced the tax from $60 to $20 for 'one-day callers', but what's the real cost in terms of permanently damaged harbours and lowered standards? And those of us with experience in this business recognise that the 'one-day callers' create greater demand, because they are trying to fit in as much as they can.
"When David Saul was Finance Minister, we increased the tax from $20 to $60, because we were paying Marine & Ports people 365 days a year, and we felt that the taxpayers shouldn't have to pay the whole burden for tugs and tenders, and there wasn't a word of complaint from the cruise lines back then.
"Meanwhile, when they tried to raise taxes to $5 in the Caribbean, the cruise lines objected, and when asked how that could be, they said that Bermuda had $60 worth of infrastructure.
"(Dr. Brown) said that the cruise ship passengers and crew spend $46 million a year here, but what is the net profit to Bermuda? Someone here has to pay for the buses and taxis they use and the gas that goes in them, and the cheap souvenirs they buy. What is their net contribution to the economy?"
Dr. Brown did describe significant infrastructure spending, but gave no estimate of its cost.
"The vision for Dockyard includes the construction of a second cruise berth to accommodate most of the 'mega ships'," he announced, "which fall into the class of ships like the Voyager of the Seas. In addition, a new transportation hub for bus, ferry, taxi and watersport tours will be developed, as will other infrastructure improvements to ensure that water, sewer and refuge (sic) are handled in an environmentally sensitive way."
Mr. Woolridge noted, with regard to transportation, that he had been in town on Wednesday morning, and that it seemed that it was difficult to service the visitors from the current, smaller ships.
"I don't know if there are other things going on, but the Zenith and Horizon are in town, and a lot of their visitors are standing around waiting for taxis," he advised.
"That's not the sort of thing which enhances a quality resort.
"The available transportation is already stretched too thin. I don't think it would be
popular or sensible for the Minister to increase the number of cabs on the road, because during the off season the fellows are out there struggling for survival. But the plan to invite mega-ships takes me back to the time when smaller oil tankers were phased out to make way for those very large crude carriers, and they caused huge problems with oil spills and pollution and now you don't hear much about them.
"The problem is that if this mega-cruise ship business turns out to be a fad, we can not take back the terrible damage we will have done to our harbours and our environment. Once it's gone, you can't get it back."
Mr. Woolridge was concerned about the "deafening silence" which had greeted the news of the proposed changes to the harbours, and to Bermuda's tourism strategy.
"We may change the physical appearance of Bermuda for these 950-foot mega-ships, but it will not lead to the employment of one additional Bermudian. Our restaurants are under pressure, but they won't buy any meals either, because it's all included aboard. But If the Southampton Princess is at full capacity, it will employ about 600 people.
"With nearly 3,000 people in St. eorge's, 3,000 in Hamilton, and nearly 6,000 in Dockyard, because they plan to have four mega-ships here at one time, who is going to service the airports, hotels and international companies, who came here on the understanding there would be a viable transportation system? We are already outstripping our ability to provide the quality service that Bermuda built its reputation on.
"It's worth repeating; these cruise lines don't care about the future of Bermuda as a high-class resort, because that's not the business they're in. Bermuda is a convenient stop for them from New York and the north-eastern seaboard; it is a delightful and viable destination; people felt safe here, or they used to do so, and we need to get back to that. Nothing about the presence of those mega-ships will restore that."
Hamilton Mayor Lawson Mapp said it was too early to be sure how it would all work out, but he sounded some of the same themes as Mr. Woolridge.
"We as a Corporation have decided we should do something about redeveloping our waterfront, and we are trying to work with the Ministry of Tourism and Transport to examine how we can best accommodate the new type of vessels," said Mr. Mapp.
"We are told that the current eight ships that are serving us will be sold off in five or six years, but we all know that the type of visitor we try to attract really don't want to be on a ship with 3,000 passengers.
"They like the smaller ships, they like the gourmet meals and a nice ambience, and having 3,000 passengers and 1,500 crew spewing out on to Front Street is something we will have to look at very carefully; how we can accommodate them, the financial benefits, and environmental considerations; can the ship get through Two Rock passage?"
"We don't have the terms of reference yet for the Waterfront Task Force, but if a ship can't get through Two Rock, and there are environmental issues, like having to blow up Two Rock and damage coral reefs, then that's a non-starter.
"I must give the Minister credit; he has been working to get the airlines to get fares down, and that's what we need to focus on. If we get the airfares down, people will stay in the hotels, and they employ Bermudians; the cruise ships don't employ Bermudians.
"When you work out what these people spend when they're on the island, a few trinkets and such, the people who come by air are much more beneficial for us, because they create jobs for chambermaids and taxi drivers, for waiters and waitresses.
"We have to wait until we hear from the technical people as to whether a 'Panamax' ship can come into Hamilton. In the end, they may decide the ship is going to create too many waves, or it can't get in without causing too much of an environmental problem, and then the case will be closed."
National Trust director Steve Conway said: "So far we have not been presented with any specific plans for Higgs Island and the Cruise Ports plan except that we have been told by Tourism and Transport that options are being assessed to see what, if anything, needs to be done to fit a larger cruise ship. We are looking at it ourselves and hope to form a consensus from within the Trust within the next week or so."
The Royal Gazette