Cruise Ships to Visit Port Antonio this Year

Several cruise liners are scheduled to make calls at the Ken Wright Pier in Port Antonio, Portland, during the course of this year, as efforts continue to reposition the town as a major cruise ship destination.
This is in keeping with a trend established last year, when 11 calls were made to the Ken Wright Pier by cruise liners.
Among the vessels expected to visit are the Zenith, Windsurf, Sea Dream 11, Saga Ruby and Regata.Donald Barrant, Manager of Maritime and Transport Services Limited, the company which operates the Ken Wright Pier on behalf of the Port Authority of Jamaica, told JIS News that 13 calls are scheduled for the remainder of this year, adding that five visits were made between January and February.
He said the schedule of calls were made as a result of representation by the Port Authority of Jamaica to cruise shipping companies in both Europe and North America, in its attempt to market Port Antonio as a cruise ship port.
Mr. Barrant noted that the vessels scheduled for calls were smaller than those which make regular stops in Ocho Rios and Montego Bay, as the Ken Wright Pier was not able to accommodate the larger ones because of the size of the channel leading to the pier.
He said this limitation had implications for the visit of the Zenith because of its size, and that the Port Authority has appointed a special committee to look into the possibility of making the necessary adjustments to enable the accommodation of that vessel, which is scheduled to call in November and December of this year.
Mr. Barrant also said the Port Authority has extended the acceptable length of vessels calling at the pier from 550 feet to 660 feet, to enable the accommodation of medium sized vessels, which were among the cruise liners scheduled to visit during the course of this year.