Guernsey cruise ship berth proposed

Guernsey could more than quadruple its revenue from visiting cruise ships by building a specific berth, according to the Public Services Department.

It has put forward a report on the subject asking the States for permission to further explore the idea.

The department said cruise ships currently spend £1.3m and with a berth it could rise to up to £6m.

It said the report would see if there was an appetite for the project, which has been costed at £25-£80m.

If approved, Public Services would carry out an engineering assessment of a possible site to the east of the main freight handling area and look into how the project could be funded.

It has already said: "For the concept to be viable it would involve significant private sector involvement."

The department said the island was the leading UK port in the European cruise market and in 2011 saw 69 visits and more than 62,000 passengers land.

This is up from 29,000 passengers in 2001 and the "cruise liner season has continued to deliver strong and consistent performance over the last 10 years".


Improving facilities for cruise passengers at the inter-island quay was seen as "not ideal" The report noted there had been 82 cruise ship visits planned for 2011, with the majority of the cancelled visits caused by bad weather.

Currently passengers get to the island via tenders, which can only operate under certain wind strengths or wave heights, and are not used by all cruise companies.

The Public Service Department said where the passengers land at the inter-island quay was not ideal as it was a multi-purpose facility and offered only basic facilities.

It said if the project went ahead it would mean an increase in passenger numbers due to bigger ships being able to visit and generally more frequent visits.

The department also said it would cut the number of cancellations due to bad weather, which would allow a sounder base for investment by local companies, for example on-island tours.

It also suggested the berth could be used for super yachts when not occupied by a cruise liner.
(from BBC)

Plus a few million extra for the deep water berth at St Sampsons for the new fuel tankers that will be needed over the next few years...

Empire building.

It does not inspire confidence when the Public Services Department think that we are part of the UK.

Could be a good thing for the Island. Any other ways to diversify the Islands income can only be a good thing, but I think it would be a problem to install. Much better idea than the little Venice brainwave years ago.

It would never work ,another waste of money , just imagine a strong north or south wind it would be a nightmare trying to get a vessel that size to berth .I Like the sums being thrown around between £25 - £80 million some difference there eh and they said it would genarate £6 mill a year , my question is how ? in my experance the pasangers do not spend a lot of money here , i have seen them going back to the ship empty handed and not just one or two most of them .

Im'e with you there I dont see where the revenu is going to come back in from, but If it's done with private investors money that's thair problem. If they do this perhaps they could lay on a wally trolly and dump all of the visitors in Trinity Square, a few thousand visitors a year having no choice but to walk through the old quarter might do it some good

Passengers are not the only way for this to work, many visiting boats come here for cheaper fuel, registration etc etc, I'm not saying 100% yes, I;m just not saying 100% no.