Lindbergh Bay is officially off the table, and while government officials look around for another deposit site for the proposed Charlotte Amalie Harbor dredging project, Oasis of the Seas will begin docking at Crown Bay starting Dec. 8, according to Gov. John deJongh Jr.
"Crown Bay is an interim solution," deJongh said during a press conference held Wednesday at Government House on St. Thomas. "Quite frankly, it is not the ideal with respect to passenger experience — there will be issues of security screening, transportation, economic impact on passenger spending. However, it ensures that the destination is able to keep the ship as a port of call."
The project — a joint effort between the V.I. Port Authority and the West Indian Co. Ltd. — had already been cleared through Planning and Natural Resources and the Senate, but still lacks a permit from the Army Corps. of Engineers, which deJongh said he was "fairly certain" would have been issued. The project includes depositing more than 150,000 cubic yards of spoils into the much debated Lindbergh Bay dredge depository — a 35 foot deep hole which some experts have called a vortex that has adversely impacted fish and wildlife in the area and has increased beach erosion since its creation in the 1930’s.
The dredging has been opposed by residents who have said funneling the spoils into the bay would bring in contaminants such as arsenic and copper and, among other things, wipe out the marine life that has recently begun to repopulate the hole.
"As this process proceeded, and mindful of the community’s concerns on the placement of the dredged spoils, yet the desire to ensure that Royal Caribbean maintains St. Thomas as a port of call for Oasis, I had instructed my team to develop options in the event that a change of course was required," deJongh explained.
So, after some negotiations with the cruise lines that already have contracts with the Port Authority, the government has come to an agreement with Royal Caribbean that would allow some of the ships that normally berth at Crown Bay to be shifted to Havensight on the days when Oasis is in port.
The ultimate goal, however, is to bring Oasis over to the WICO dock during the 2010-2011 cruise season. A task force has been established in the meantime to make improvements to the Crown Bay pier, but its efforts will also include pinpointing alternate sites for the dredging spoils, according to VIPA board chairman Cassan Pancham.
Due to some maintenance dredging conducted to accommodate ships from Princess Cruise Lines, Oasis can currently dock on the south side of the Crown Bay dock, Pancham explained after the press conference.
Meanwhile, Tourism’s strategy for Crown Bay is to increase ground transportation, the amount of greeters in the area and entertainment for passengers, according to Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty.
"We’re working on those logistics now and definitely want to encourage shopping there," she said after the press conference, adding that efforts will also be made to increase passenger presence in areas such as Market Square and Emancipation Garden, where staging points will be set up "so that someone can go and get a question answered or just have a cultural experience."
But there are still some variables up in the air. The project was originally expected to cost about $9 million, but now that number is uncertain. It might go down, according to WICO head Edward Thomas Sr., or it might go up, depending on what alternate site is selected, according to Pancham.
"In terms of the dredging, we have to look at disposal," Pancham explained after the press conference. "Those costs are based on the distance we have to cover in order to transport the spoils and how it will be secured."
An amended permit will also have to be submitted and approved, officials said.
But Thomas said the interim solution is a win-win for everyone, allowing the number of passengers to climb back up to at least 1.8 million by 2011 and providing Havensight with a new clientele.
Additionally, when Oasis is first scheduled to be at Crown Bay, Carnival Cruise Line’s new flagship Carnival Dream is expected to be shifted over to Havensight, he added.
The new 2009-2010 cruise ship schedule will be posted on WICO’s website at http://www.wico-vi.com/.
