Grand Cayman to Build Cruise Ship Dock

The island of Grand Cayman, which has long resisted building a cruise ship dock out of concern about environmental damage that would result from dredging a channel into George Town Harbor, has now decided to start development of a dock for four ships, according to Cruise Ship Report. The initial phase, an environmental impact assessment, has just started. Currently, cruise ships anchor off George Town, and tenders ferry their thousands of passengers back and forth to town. At some times of year, cruise ships are forced to skip scheduled visits to the island because the shallow waters off Grand Cayman are too rough for tendering. This is seen as inconvenient by major cruise lines whose ships visit Grand Cayman and prefer to be able to tie up at a dock, where their passengers could simply walk off a ship straight onto land. Until now, environmentalists- concerned over damage to the coral reefs that surround the island of Grand Cayman- successfully blocked consideration of dredging a channel to build a dock for cruise ships. On July 26, the government committed to building a cruise ship dock. The environmental impact assessment would address environment and hazard vulnerability, potential environmental impacts and mitigation measures, and monitoring. A public consultation process would begin in September, at which time more information will be provided. (Source: Cruise Ship Report)