Feb. 11, 2009 — The completion of a joint permit application puts the V.I. Port Authority and the West Indian Co. Ltd. one step closer to starting a $9 million dredging project aimed at bringing larger cruise ships to the territory.
Early last month, the two agencies filed a joint Coastal Zone Management application with Planning and Natural Resources for some spot dredging at the entrance of the Charlotte Amalie Harbor. The form was deemed complete by CZM earlier this month, according to a recent Government House news release. The dredging will allow the Royal Caribbean's new Genesis class of cruise ships to begin calls to St. Thomas later this year.
The dredging depth is 40 feet, with a one foot over-dredge at the southern end of the channel and a 37-foot turning basin, according to the application. Additional improvements to the harbor include the placement of new floating navigational aids in the turning basin and the replacement of an existing mooring buoy with a pile-supported mooring dolphin south of the WICO dock.
A forum giving community members the opportunity to ask questions and express concerns about the project has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 18, at the V.I. Port Authority Administration Building.
The $9 million project allows the territory to adapt to the "continuously changing" tourism industry, and helps to lure in bigger ships, such as Royal Caribbean's new Oasis of the Seas, according to Gov. John deJongh Jr.
"This project, which will ultimately be funded by increased cruise-passenger traffic, is expected to dramatically improve the V.I. economy by boosting tourism in St. Thomas and allowing our destination to remain competitive as a premier Eastern Caribbean port of call," the governor said Wednesday. "Increased numbers of visitors to the islands through the cruise-ship industry will not only be beneficial to St. Thomas but also to the port of St. Croix, where cruise ships have resumed regularly scheduled port calls."
The filling of the Lindbergh Bay dredge hole is expected to boost the water quality of the bay by improving conditions for many maritime activities, including swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving and fishing, deJongh said.
About 175,000 cubic yards of spoils generated from the project will be deposited into the infamous Lindbergh Bay dredge hole. The filling of the hole is expected to improve the area's water quality and restore the level of the sea floor to its previous depths, according to the release. The northern portion of the bay was deepened in 1935, creating a 33-acre, 35-foot deep hole that has impacted fish and wildlife in the area and increased beach erosion. The bay's water patterns were also altered while the water quality in the dredge hole deteriorated.
Over time the area has suffered from poor water quality, including a reduction in dissolved oxygen concentrations, high turbidity levels and low light conditions, the release said. Sea grass is expected to re-colonize the newly deposited sand, adding 15 acres of sea-grass beds at Lindbergh Bay. The project is also expected to reduce the nearby beach erosion.
A committee of officials will oversee the project, including WICO President Edward Thomas Sr., Public Works Commissioner Darryl Smalls, VIPA board member Gordon Finch, WICO Construction and Leasing Manager Gershwain Sprauve and VIPA Engineering Director Dale Gregory.
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