The V.I. Port Authority board of directors gave the go ahead Wednesday for the approximately $9 million expansion of the Crown Bay dock.
A mainland engineering firm, Gee and Johnson, told board members that a feasability study using input from cruise ship captains, VIPA harbor pilots and computer simulations found that under certain wind conditions and with renovations the dock could be used by ships up to 950-feet long. Currently, the north side of the dock can accommodate ships 640 feet in length.
A reconfigured facility, including the addition of 1,000 feet of wharfage, will mean ships that now moor in the inner and outer harbor when the West Indian Company Ltd. dock at Havensight is full will have a place to comfortably berth, said VIPA Executive Director Gordon Finch.
He said the fact that the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association pitched in one-third of the $85,000 cost for the study – the remainder was paid by VIPA and WICO. – shows that if the dock is upgraded it will be used extensively.
"It gives an indication of the cruise lines’ interest in developing Crown Bay," he said.
The reconfiguration of the dock would allow it to accommodate 90 percent of the cruise ships now sailing the Caribbean, Finch said.
Because of wind, current and the proximity of other berthing facilities adjacent to the Crown Bay dock, the north side of the structure will not be able to accommodate the largest of the cruise ships. The south side, however, poses no restrictions, engineers said.
The board’s approval of the plan means a request for proposals will be circulated by VIPA on the dock renovations and a shopping center on land adjacent to the dock area. A time line for the project’s completion wasn’t given, but when it is finished, "We know we’re going to get significantly more calls . . . especially with a shopping center," said Finch. "It’s the kind of project that will present increased revenue for the Port Authority."
