Guernsey Press

Deep water berth for liners 'better, but not essential'

A DEEP water berth would see cruise liners visit more often – but a lack of one would not put them off, the Captain of P&O's largest vessel, the Britannia, has said.

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When asked what would make the island more attractive to the cruise industry, Captain David Pembridge said: 'Nothing short of a berth. The berthing problem is the most important thing that we would want, although making a berth here would be quite difficult due to the exposure to the weather.'

While the spotlight in Guernsey has focused around the controversial relocation of cruise tender pontoons to make the arrival of passengers easier, Captain Pembridge said the real headache for liners was on board the ship.

'Logistically, it is an issue. Getting 4,000 people off a ship using tenders takes quite a considerable amount of time. We try to do it as efficiently as possible but it does take a long time compared to berthing and having people walk down a gangway,' he said.

'I don't think it would put cruise liners off not having one.

'It would just be a lot easier if there was one and we'd probably come here more often.'

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