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Tag Archive: cruise

Cayman Berthing Facility Officially Approved

cayman berthing facility - Baird

On Wednesday 28th October the Cayman Cabinet officially approved the cruise berthing facility recommendations.

The Cayman Government announced in September that they were pushing ahead with the plans to build a cruise berthing facility in George Town, however a design has not been finalized.

The cruise pier project estimates a potential economic upside of US$439 million over 20 years for the Cayman Islands.

The estimate factors in anticipated increase in passenger spending based on the assumption that the piers would allow passengers to spend more time on shore.

The engineers are tweaking the project design to minimize the environmental impacts. The plans do look certain to involve dredging the George Town Harbour to build the $189 million cruise berthing facility. (more…)

November 5, 2015 Blog, , , , , , , , , , , Read more >

New Cruise Port ‘Full Steam Ahead’

Plans for a new cruise port in George Town are going ‘full steam ahead’, according to the Cayman Island Government.

Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin made the announcement at the Chamber of Commerce Legislative Luncheon on Wednesday (30th of September).

The Cruise berthing has been the most controversial and divisive issue to face Cayman in recent years. Do the concerns over the damage to the coral reefs outweigh the many hundreds of people and families who rely on jobs created as a result of cruise tourism, and continue to rely on them for years to come ?

Eighty-five percent of tourists arrive to the islands by sea. At the moment the cruise ships must anchor offshore and taxi passengers to the shore. The new port includes docking and direct access to the shore.

Plans for a cable car style ‘Cayman’s Sky Bridge’ were proposed in August by the GreenTech Group, which would have seen passengers transported to the shore from two piers fixed to the sea bed outside the reef line. It would appear however, that the Cayman Government has dismissed that proposal for its original, more traditional one. (more…)

October 7, 2015 Blog, , , , , , , , , , , , , Read more >

Cayman Sky Bridge proposal

The big conversation in Grand Cayman at the moment is what to do with the cruise port.

It is widely agreed that the port needs expanding but environmentalists and locals have raised massive concerns over the damage the proposed new berthing port would do to acres of reef and animal habitats.

Currently, the Cayman Government has proposed a $250 million berthing facility that would fit up to four cruise ships with access directly to the shore. That proposal looks very much in doubt after an environmental impact statement was released 9th of June. It was estimated that around 15 acres of reef would be completely destroyed with another 20 acres negatively affected.

The impact of the project would affect Georgetown Harbor’s snorkeling, scuba diving, boat tours, recreational fishing, and other marine activities that brings between CI$19 million to CI$22 million annually to the Cayman Islands. (more…)

August 25, 2015 Blog, , , , , , , , , , , Read more >