The looming presence of a 1,000-foot cruise ship just off the reefs of Eden Rock has stirred up a fresh debate over the environmental impact of the resurgent industry.
Snorkellers and divers say they were greeted by silty water, low visibility and the drone of cruise ship engines at the site Wednesday morning.
The culprit on this occasion was the Celebrity Equinox, a 3,000-passenger capacity vessel.
Though to the naked eye it appeared perilously close to the reefs, Port Authority and Department of Environment officials, who were called to the scene, say it was within the port anchorage zone.
It’s the largest vessel to drop anchor at that location since before the COVID lockdown and officials speculate that its presence may have seemed jarring to a public who has got used to a cruise ship-free vista on the George Town waterfront.
Rachel Osborne, a free diver, sounded the alarm in a 10am video post, describing the ship as “dangerously close” to the marine park boundary.
She made a report to the DoE and the Port Authority.
Though the officials ultimately determined the ship was within the anchorage, Osborne believes a rethink is needed on how close ships should be allowed to the reefs.
She believes the ship was too close to snorkellers and divers in the water and placed people and marine life at risk.
Osborne, who dives the area regularly, partly to monitor the impact of disease on the reefs, said it was “distressing” to see large ships in such close proximity to vulnerable corals.
She added that it was counter-productive to bring tourists to see an area of natural beauty, like Eden Rock, and then park the ship on top of the reef.
There were passengers from the Celebrity Equinox among the crowds of snorkellers and scuba divers at the site Wednesday. Some expressed surprise at the proximity of the ship to the reef and questioned whether the site would be worth diving.
Mario Blanchette, the manager of the dive operation, accepted that the ship was parked legally.
But he said it was impacting the experience for visitors – including the ship’s own passengers.
“I wish they could park it somewhere else and leave the reef alone,” he said. “It is not a fun experience for the divers.”
Blanchette, who dived the area himself to assess the impact, said visibility was about half of what it normally is. There was no direct impact on the reef from the ship or anchor chain, however.
“When we had seven ships a day, it made sense to put one there, but now we only have three, there is no need for it,” he said.
The Port Authority sent a boat out to the site following Osborne’s complaint.
Roylee Moore, manger for cruise and security operations at the Port Authority, said the ship was well within the anchorage, and port staff could see the chain lying in a sandy bottom, with no impact on the reef.
“It may look a little closer to shore because of the wind direction and the sheer size of the ship,” he said. “It is actually well within the boundaries of the anchorage.”
He said the smaller Carnival Paradise was typically anchored at that spot and the Equinox was the largest ship since COVID-19 to be placed there.
Tim Austin, deputy director of the Department of Environment, confirmed there was no legal issue with where the ship was anchored.
He said a DoE boat had inspected the site and, “while very close, the vessel’s anchor is not in coral and is in the designated port anchorage”.
The reef opposite Eden Rock and Don Foster’s in George Town has long been vulnerable to impacts from cruise ships and other boat traffic.
In 2014, significant damage was caused when a cruise ship accidentally dropped its anchor on the reef outside the port anchorage. More recently, coral was left covered in sand after an incident involving a cargo ship that got grounded in the harbour.
Osborne said she was surprised to learn the Equinox was parked legally on Wednesday. She hopes authorities will consider a rethink of where such vessels can be anchored as the cruise industry ramps up again post-COVID.
Longer term, she believes Cayman should consider a new approach to cruise tourism in general – prioritising the natural value of a protected waterfront.
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The Port Authority needs to move the anchorage site further away from Eden Rock, if Roylee Moore was ever to dive on this site with a massive cruiseship anchored so close, stirring up sand and silt he would realise the problem. There is plenty of room to moor the ships further out, so what is the problem with doing this?.
If visitors come to Cayman to dive or snorkel and their very own ship obstructs or interferes with that objective, does anybody appreciate the irony? Even if the anchor is actually in the sand outside the technical boundary of the Marine Park, the engine pumps and props stirring up loose sand that lands on the vulnerable corals will have short and long term negative impact. It would be best for all concerned that the western and southern boundary of the Marine Park be extended further out. The cruise ship divers and snorkelers, local Caymanian water enthusiasts, Eden Roc as a commercial enterprise, and even the corals themselves would all be most grateful. Thanks
Both comments are spot on. “At what Price?” as the saying goes, if doing something costs you even more, and in this case, your environment, where are your watchdogs?