By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Crystal Cruises has sought to reassure Spanish Wells residents that its passengers will not overwhelm the community during their weekly call, while also pledging that its vessel will not harm Egg Island’s environment.

Kevin Jones, chief strategy officer for Crystal’s parent, Genting Americas, and the cruise line’s corporate manager, told Tribune Business via an e-mailed response that the cruise line would transport passengers to the north Eleuthera community via “staggered” tenders that would be limited to “fewer than 100 people” so that the number of visitors to Spanish Wells would be restricted.

And, pledging that there will be no dredging to facilitate the Crystal Serenity anchoring at Egg Island, he said all the anchorage positions had been approved working in collaboration with local ports facilities teams.

“We are reiterating to stakeholders that there would be absolutely no dredging. Crystal Serenity is helmed by Captain Birger Vorland, a 17-year veteran of Crystal who has more than 45 years of mariner experience. The Captain and the bridge officers utilise electronic charts as well as local yachting charts, and would use radar and sonar technology to monitor our position at all times,” said Mr Jones.

As for passenger movements, he added: “Our plan would be to spread guests around the islands by staggering tour shore excursions’ departure times throughout the morning and afternoon, thus controlling the number of guests on the islands at any given time.

“Guests going ashore would be limited by the capacity and frequency of the tenders. Tenders would be limited to fewer than 100 people. We would never have two tenders ashore at the same time, and we would control the speed of the tender operations so there is a limited flow of guests arriving on an island at any given time.”

Mr Jones continued: “Last week, our marine and destination teams visited Spanish Wells, meeting again with various stakeholders. We continue to listen to voiced concerns and share detailed information at every possible juncture. Some of the information we have shared includes our stringent environmental policies, plans for capacity control for guest flow on the islands, and our anchorage policy.

“Crystal recognises the immense privilege we have to explore the waters around the world and deliver unforgettable experiences for our guests. With this privilege comes the responsibility to operate with the greatest care in the communities and destinations we visit.

“Our environmental focus is on energy and water conservation; waste reduction; recycling and wildlife; marine and cultural preservation, so we leave little to no footprint at the destinations we visit - a ‘Nothing Overboard’ policy that represents the commitment of the company that no waste materials of any kind will be disposed of overboard from any Crystal Cruises’ operated vessel; and the utilisation of low-sulphur fuel and the reduction of all plastics wherever possible.”

Confirming that the cruise line remains encouraged by the response to its Bahamas’ home porting, and seven-night cruises around the archipelago that begin on July 3, Mr Jones said: “Crystal Cruises remains pleased with the overall terrific response from our guests, travel partners and the local Bahamian businesses and its communities after we announced the July 3, 2021 launch of our new Luxury Bahamas Escapes voyages.

“The partnership between Crystal Cruises and The Bahamas’ Ministry of Tourism has jump-started economic growth in The Bahamas, where we are partnering with local businesses in every island we are visiting. In our initial exploration of calling on Spanish Wells, the Crystal team and members of the Ministry of Tourism met with local stakeholders the week of May 11 and, under their guidance, we developed a request for proposal that was sent to 19 tour operators.

“In addition, we developed a partnership portal on our website to accept business inquiries, which we recently closed on May 31 to give us sufficient time to prepare for the first sailing on July 3. While the portal is closed, we are contacting those who were not initially selected to see if they would be available for future rotations now that we have extended our calls into November.”

Returning to the conservation theme, Mr Jones added: “Our environmental procedures and policies are stringent, comprehensive and meet and/or exceed the international regulations set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the US and other maritime nations.

“These standards include: The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) and the International Standards for Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).

“We also follow all applicable laws and regulations in each country and destinations our ships visit. In fact, the company was recently awarded the Blue Circle Award from the port of Vancouver, which acknowledges cruise lines that voluntarily implement sustainability measures and practices that go above and beyond those required by port regulations.”