Cruise ship debacle over and tourist dollars return

We reported on Thursday, that a Carnival cruise ship did not make its scheduled stop in Belize.  Over three thousand visitors were on the Carnival Valor that continued to its next port of call, Cozumel when it was not piloted through the English Caye Channel as is required by law. That meant a significant loss to the tourism industry at a time when the season is traditionally slow.  The pace picked-up today, however, when visitors on the Legend of the Sea did make it to shore. News Five’s Isani Cayetano has this story.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

The Legend of the Sea, a Carnival cruise ship that was scheduled to arrive in Belize City this morning, moored about a mile off coast without a hitch.  While business was brisk at the Fort Street Tourism Village today some vendors and tour operators are still reeling from the effect of a decision taken on Thursday by the Port of Belize Limited to abort piloting another Carnival vessel into the harbor.  That decision according to PBL was influenced by the weather condition that is currently prevailing over parts of the country.  Strong winds and an overall unstable sea state prohibited marine pilots from boarding Valor.  That, for some vendors, was a poor excuse from the company responsible for providing the necessary piloting service.

Vendor #1, Fort Street Tourism Village

“It really affects us because we depend on this right.  We are artisans.  We come from Orange Walk, a village from Orange Walk and we were happy we were sharing our arts here in the Tourist Village but unfortunately nobody was able to let us know before we come in.  So, as I said before we depend on this for our living so we had to spend our passage, our day fee and we show up here and nothing happened.”

That’s because Port of Belize Limited stood firmly behind the decision made by the marine pilot who chose not to board the cruise ship under such severe conditions.  According to Reynaldo Guerrero the safety of his crewmen is priority number one.

Reynaldo Guerrero, CEO, Port of Belize Ltd.

reynaldo guerrero

“His job is not only to get out to the vessel, which is part of the extreme weather conditions.  His job in addition to that is to, with the captain of our boat, is to coast along with the cruise ship while it’s moving under those extreme weather conditions.  And then while moving too to board the vessel. So the risk was going out, the risk was going alongside, the damage to life and property as well as trying to get aboard the vessel.  There was three opportunities for failure and due to the extreme weather conditions he decided that under those conditions for the safety of life at sea, figured it was not worth it and there’s no life that’s worth any economic gain for anybody.”

The loss of revenue from the decision to abort boarding Carnival Valor has raised the ire of quite a number of vendors but for one woman whose husband is a marine pilot she understands fully the reason behind the action taken.

Vendor #2, Fort Street Tourism Village

“I as a pilot wife so I could say the Port did a good decision to avoid like the pilot go there because of the safety of the pilots.  So they saved some lives, the pilots lives, so.  Well I complain from my side because I lost business but it could have been my husband out there risking his life so I have to look at that side too.  So I agree totally with the port that they make that decision.”

While PBL affirms its support for the action taken by its marine pilots an investigation is being conducted by the Belize Ports Authority.  Ports Commissioner John Flowers says the outcome of that investigation will determine what measures should be taken.

john flowers

Major John Flowers, Ports Commissioner

“We just want to establish what went wrong so we can put it right; whether it’s a vessel, of not the correct size and configuration to go out with marine pilots given the sea state at this time of the year; whether it’s the pilot not probably up to par to get out there; maybe the vessel is not capable of going alongside in that type of sea state; we don’t know what the problem is until after an investigation is conducted so we’re trying to get to the bottom of that.  At the end of the day whatever happens then we will deal with the circumstances at the time.”

PBL is complying with the Port Authority while it conducts the investigation and according to Guerrero this is the first such incident where a mission to pilot a marine vessel through the English Caye Channel has been aborted.

Reynaldo Guerrero

“This is the first time especially under such mitigating circumstances that the Port has ever had to abort one of these situations, keeping in mind that we average about between five to six hundred and fifty vessels a year. If you multiply that by five I mean it over three thousand vessels over the last five years.  For the first time I think we are way, way above performance in a situation like this.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.

According to the Port of Belize, the results of the ongoing investigation will be known next week.