Small cruise ships to dock in the harbour

There are hopes that the move will encourage more small cruise firms to book trips to the island.

Small cruise ships have intermittently docked in the harbour in the past. But the berths were typically so busy with Condor’s five vessels that it was rare there was a suitable window.

But Guernsey Ports cruise operations and business development manager Mark Renouf said the reduction in boat movements, as Condor is only serving Guernsey, not Jersey, had left some capacity for increased use at the berths.

‘It’s about being to able to utilise the infrastructure,’ he said.

‘There are lots of smaller ships that will be interested. It will be a smaller, more exclusive experience, so we hope it will attract more business.’

It is planned that 10 cruise ships will use berth 1 this summer, with the first being the World Traveller on 14 May, which will arrive from the Isle of Wight before heading off to the Isles of Scilly.

‘We can take any ship up to 131 metres, which will also need to meet our berth criteria,’ he said.

Condor’s largest ships are just under 130 metres long.

Cruise ships of this size can carry up to around 200 passengers.

The cruise ships would need to have bow and stern thrusters to allow the vessel to manoeuvre in the busy space of the harbour. A local pilot will be used to bring the vessels safely in.

Mr Renouf was hopeful this would being in more small boats, without having any impact of the bigger cruise ships, which moor in the Russel.

‘We want to have a mix of ships,’ he said.

‘We want to promote Guernsey for all sizes of ship, so this is an extra feather in our cap.'

Tenders from larger vessels will continue to operate to the Albert Pier, which remain the primary embarkation point.

But a temporary area will be created around berth 1 for when the smaller cruise ships dock, with a ramp being used to allow passengers to disembark.