£100m to bring in cruise ships?

Wednesday 22 January 2014

A deep-water berth to bring cruise ships into Jersey could cost up to £100 million, a study has shown.

The Economic Development department is planning a full investigation into how Jersey can get more out of cruise liner visitors next year, which is likely to be welcome news for the struggling tourism industry. The Island currently gets between eight and 12 visits from cruise liners each year, far fewer than Guernsey, but the work here is hampered by the fact that we have no deep water berth to allow them to dock at the harbour.

Economic Development Minister Alan Maclean told the States yesterday that it would cost between £70 million and £100 million to create a deep water berth suitable for cruise ships. He said that the new Ports of Jersey organisation was represented on the board of a UK cruise association, and that representatives from major cruise firms had visited the Island to look at potential locations for berths at St Catherine’s and Bouley Bay, but said that St Helier would be the best spot.

"I am fully supportive of developing our cruise business further and the Economic Development department, Jersey Tourism and the Ports of Jersey have undertaken a number of studies," he said.

He said that the economic conditions had made a deep water berth impossible at the moment, but added that it was something that the Ports of Jersey could take on post-incorporation.

The Senator was facing questions by St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft, who said that on a recent trip to Madeira, he had learned that the island attracted 300 cruise ships and some 650,000 visitors per year, making a major contribution to the retail and hospitality sectors.