A day after Searsport residents raised concerns about a potential cruise ship visit in October, the company that wanted to bring a large ship to town has changed its mind.
Saga Cruises cited low tides in mid-October that would make tender vessels unable to reach the town wharf, said Searsport Town Manager James Gillway.
The company contacted the town Friday morning to discuss alternative options for disembarking that day, but ultimately decided it would be unsafe to attempt to come into port given the risk that their tenders might bottom out, Gillway said.
The company’s decision was not connected to recent pushback from residents, but it does give the town more time to determine what the relationship between Searsport and the cruise industry will be moving forward, the town manager said.
“We’re at the point where we do need to define exactly what we want to do and what we want to be,” Gillway said. “Now, we have the time.”
Searsport residents raised concerns about the potential arrival at a meeting Thursday, asking for more time and meetings with town officials before making a final decision on the cruise ship visit. The ship was not identified by name, but officials said it can carry more than 900 passengers.
The town will hold another public meeting on cruise ships in the coming weeks, Gillway said.
The ship was originally scheduled to visit Bar Harbor, officials said, but rising concerns around that town’s potential limitations on cruise ship disembarkation have led to some companies looking to other Maine ports to fulfill their itineraries.
Searsport still is planning to pursue the security clearance that would allow foreign-flagged vessels to come to port, Gillway said, but he hopes to cut down on costs from the original $9,000 estimate approved by the town select board last month.
“We were kind of rushing, and maybe we’ll slow down a bit,” Gillway said. “We’ll try to find a way to do it in a less expensive way.”
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