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phosphorusSt Peters MP Colin Jordan revealed plans are underway to welcome small cruise ships to Speightstown as early as the upcoming cruise season, in a bid to revitalise the historic town and boost economic activity.
Jordan revealed at the Barbados Labour Party St Peter’s Branch Annual General Meeting held at Alexandra School that cruise ship visitors have shown an increasing interest in exploring the town’s rich cultural heritage.
“We know the value of Speightstown, not just to St. Pete, but to the entire country. As far as I’m concerned and as far as many St. Pete people are concerned, Speightstown is truly the historical and heritage center of this country,” the councillor said.
He added: “The cruise operators are aware of this and have been asking for some time to call at Speightstown. Obviously, Speightstown can only accommodate these small ships, so in my recent discussions I was told that there may be a ship that would be genuinely interested in calling at Speightstown in the upcoming cruise season.
We are planning for the next cruise season, but I have been told that there may be a small ship that would be interested in calling at Speightstown a few times during the upcoming cruise season.”
Jordan stressed that appropriate shore-based actions were needed to handle incoming vessels, including immigration, customs and port health services. He suggested that given the current fish market’s proximity to the pier, it could potentially provide those services.
Jordan declared: “The way we operate in the Barbados Labour Party is that we never ask anyone to do something else, so when I talk about using the facility, it is not to the detriment of any of the existing users of the facility, which in fact now includes the regional emergency groups that we have meetings with from time to time.”
Infrastructure improvements are also being considered to facilitate the ships. “One of the infrastructures is actually what they call mooring facilities,” Jordan explained. “Only very small cruise ships – not even cruise ships – maybe some large yachts – will be able to dock at the pier. But those small cruise ships with 100 or 150 passengers will not be able to dock.”
He elaborated further on the mooring system: “They have agreed to use tenders – they call them tenders – so they will secure themselves to a mooring. I’m told that one mooring has been put down so far. It will be some mechanism outside the pier, in the waters outside the reef, which will allow the boat to anchor and stay there while a smaller tender boat that can dock at the pier brings tourists to the pier.”
Jordan praised the marina’s recent renovations and noted its resilience in recent weather conditions. “I think the renovations are going well. I think the one that’s being used right now is the MV Harbour Master and the marina is being used for that right now and I think, probably until after Kadooment Day,” he said.
The councillor stressed the importance of controlling the number of visitors: “We can’t handle seven or eight hundred people in Speightstown in six hours. Our goal is to keep the number of visitors down.”
As discussions progress, Jordan plans to further collaborate with the Barbados Ports Corporation on this initiative, highlighting St. Peter’s economic fortunes and the potential for revitalization of northern towns.
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