The Port of Bridgetown (officially the Deep Water Harbour)[1] is a seaport in Bridgetown on the west coast of Barbados. Situated along Carlisle Bay, the port handles all of the country's bulk ship based trade and commerce from across the world.[2] In addition to international-shipping the Deep Water Harbour is the port of entry for southern-Caribbean cruise ships.[3]
Constructed in 1961, the Deep Water Harbour was created by forming a man-made isthmus across the shallow straight that existed off the coast of Fontabelle, Saint Michael. This isthmus formed new land stretching from the original west coast of Barbados, out to a small uninhabited island nearby named Pelican Island. The port handles roughly 900,000 tonnes of containerised cargo per year.
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The Deep-Water Harbour now acts as a home port for many of the British-based Cruise ship lines operating in the Caribbean region. The dredging project started in 2002 now allows for some of the world's largest cruise ships to berth in Barbados.[4]
In December 2008 Minister of International Transport, George Hutson announced that due to congestion between cargo and passenger ships at the Deep Water Harbour the country needs to look at expansion at the facility following the large upgrade undertaken in 2002.[5] Due to the importance of Tourism to Barbados' economy the Government is presently reviewing a further $70 million dollar upgrade which could begin as quickly as April 2010.[6]
Some of the Cruise Lines which visit or are home ported at the Deep Water Harbour include:[7]
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See also
References
- ^ [http://www.caricomlaw.org/doc_dl.php?id=321 CHAPTER 67A DEEP WATER HARBOUR (EXPANSION AND IMPROVEMENT)] - Prior expansion 1978
- ^ T, C (2006-10-25). "Barbados 'best home port'" (in English). Nation Newspaper. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. http://web.archive.org/web/20070310184849/http://www.nationnews.com/story/289975730418660.php. Retrieved 2009-10-10. "Barbados has been billed the largest and most active cruise line home port in the world. And Barbadians are fast becoming the beneficiaries of this growing multi-million-dollar industry. That was the word from Minister of Tourism Noel Lynch, as Barbados prepares to host 18 home-porting cruise ships during the coming winter tourist season. Lynch made these disclosures during a Press conference yesterday at the Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC 29) taking place at the Westin and Sheraton Grand Bahama Lucaya Resort, Grand Bahama Island. "We will be having just about 17 or 18 ships turning in Barbados as a home port. And what will be happening in 2008 is that P&O Cruise Line (Pacific and Orient) is gearing up to bring an even larger ship to Barbados. Home porting contributes significantly to our numbers and to the economy. These ships cause people to be surprised about the level of provisioning that is done locally and the level of service which goes into these ships," he said."
- ^ Applewhaite, Gillian (2009-10-10). "Barbados PM discusses growth of cruise business with Carnival CEO" (in English). CaribbeanNetNews.com. Cayman Islands. http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-19254--26-26--.html. Retrieved 2009-10-10. "BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BGIS) -- Barbados is considered central to Carnival's developing cruise business, with three ships, Ventura, Oceana and Artemis, expected to home port in Bridgetown this winter season. This number should increase to four from winter 2010, when the new luxury ship Azura is launched. Chief Executive of Carnival UK, David Dingle, made this known during a meeting with Prime Minister David Thompson in Great Britain earlier this week. Describing the meeting as "very productive", Thompson said it was clear that Carnival UK saw Barbados as a key partner in the development of its cruise business within the Caribbean."
- ^ Barbados Port Inc: Cruise and Cargo Facilities
- ^ T, C (2008-12-24). "Port call" (in English). Nation Newspaper. Archived from the original on 2008-12-24. http://cache.zoominfo.com/CachedPage/?archive_id=0&page_id=-1565812607&page_url=%2f%2fwww.nationnews.com%2fstory%2f324258899010992.php&page_last_updated=12%2f24%2f2008+7%3a32%3a32+AM. Retrieved 2009-10-10. "MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT George Hutson yesterday expressed concern about increasing congestion at the Bridgetown Port. "Right now the cruise ships get priority and the cargo ships have to wait, but we are hoping to expand the facilities to be able to accommodate larger vessels," the minister said at a ceremony marking the inaugural visit of the Queen Victoria. "If we can get a couple of larger berths, it would create more space in the deep water harbour, and we would be able also accommodate larger ships and also offload cargo vessels while cruise ships are in port," he added. The 13-deck Queen Victoria was one of three cruise ships docking at the Bridgetown Port yesterday, the others being Ocean Village and Caribbean Princess."
- ^ Jordan, Ricky (2009-11-25). "$70m cruise plan" (in English). Nation Newspaper. http://www.nationnews.com/news/local/LEAD-port-venture-FRONT-PAGE-LEAD.
- ^ Staff Writer "Cruise Lines" (in English) Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA)Barbados, W.I. http://www.visitbarbados.org/cruise/cruiselines.aspx
External links
- Barbados Port Inc - Formerly the Barbados Port Authority
- Aerial photo of the Deep Water Harbour
- Barbados Maritime Ship Registry (BMSR)
- Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) For Barbados
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