The rapid increase in the number of cruise ship calls and the corresponding
increase in the number of passengers they bring to the country, have led Prime
Minister Gaston Browne to share his vision for the further expansion of the St.
John’s Harbour to accommodate more cruise ships and luxury yachts.
Speaking on the Browne and Browne show on Saturday, PM Browne said he is
firmly of the view that there is need to dredge the ‘inner’ harbour to the north of
Rat Island going towards Fort James to build additional berths for both cruise ships
and for the mega yachts.
“We need to further expand our cruise infrastructure and my proposal is that we
dredge and build out additional facilities in the inner harbour, from Dredge Bay to
Fort James. We should dredge that area, using the dredged materials to create more
lands to expand the Deep Water Harbour, because at some point we will need LNG
(Liquified Natural Gas) facilities to service the ships that are powered by LNG (we
have to think ahead; we have to think about the future),” the prime minister
explained.
Not one to rest on his laurels, PM Browne revealed that he has already engaged the
principals of Blue Ocean, the dredging company, on the issue. “I took the
opportunity to invite in Percy Rhoden and Colly Browne, who are the majority
owners, and who are the sole owners of Meridian, which constructed the Fifth Pier
at the Point Wharf. I shared my vision with them where we can construct
additional facilities to accommodate not only cruise ships, but mega yachts as well.
My vision also includes building additional land-based facilities and amenities
such as shops,” he further explained.
According to the prime minister he is envisaging that five years in the future there
will be berths for two more cruise ships in the harbour. He noted that the channel
has already been dredged and its only the turning basis and the berthing areas that
would need further dredging.
“We spent an enormous amount of money to dredge the channels down to a depth
of 36-40 feet and in fact, they are still out there dredging. Therefore, the entrance
would not be a problem as all they would have to do are the areas unto the pier,
which should not take too much resources. These berths would not necessarily be
for the larger ships, but those that are smaller and which can be accommodated,”
he stated.
The prime minister believes that with these developments, it would make Antigua
and Barbuda the best port for cruise ships and yachts in the entire Caribbean.
He reported that the Blue Ocean principals were ‘very excited’ about the new
proposals. He advised them that on those occasions when they do not have
commercial work, that rather than having the equipment sit idle, they should
consider utilising those times for additional dredging of the St. John’s Harbour.
The Antigua and Barbuda government has a 40 percent share in Blue Ocean
dredging company.
