With the cruise lines on one side and the Cayman Islands government on the other, the people that are caught in the middle are the ones running the tender boats from ship to shore.
With about 16 tenders in George Town harbour, Cayman Marine Services has been operating since 1975, moving some 1.4 million passengers per year in 2011 and 2012.
The tender company proposed a 75-cent per passenger price increase to be instituted in three phases throughout 2013. The fee hike raised the hackles of the profits-conscious cruise operators, whose preference is to scrap tendering altogether in favour of berthing.
Most likely, tendering would still be required even after a cruise berthing facility is built. For example, a facility with two piers may be able to serve four ships at once, but if there were six ships in port, then two would require tendering service. Additionally, then-Premier McKeeva Bush has said that tendering opportunities could be created by building a cruise dock near the Turtle Farm in West Bay.
Most likely, tendering would still be required even after a cruise berthing facility is built.
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