ST. JOHN’S PORT AUTHORITY ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF  CRUISE INFRASTRUCTURE STUDY

October 20, 2006.

(St. John’s, NL).  The St. John’s Port Authority (SJPA) advises of the completion of the Cruise Ship Infrastructure Study for the Port of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, conducted on behalf of the SJPA, with 50% financial support from the City of St. John’s.

The objective of this study was to investigate the trends of the size of the new cruise ships being built, and to evaluate whether the port could accommodate potentially larger-sized vessels in the future.   The Consultants, Bridger Design Associates Limited of St. John’s, and Global Destinations Development of Miami, Florida considered, first of all, whether a market assessment would discover the need for any improvements to the current infrastructure; and, if so, whether such works ought to consist of dredging, pier expansion or more pronounced fendering.

“With more and larger cruise ships entering the market, the SJPA felt it was very important, from a planning perspective, to have a clear understanding of the types/sizes of ships that may enter the port in the future, and to ensure that we have the necessary infrastructure in place to accommodate them,” said Sean Hanrahan, President and CEO of the SJPA.

The highlights of the report are as follows:
∙ Panamax ships, which are easily accommodated in the port, will continue to be the mainstay for the industry in St. John’s for the next five to ten years.  Indeed, calls from the larger, post-Panamax ships of the “Grand Princess Class” (GRT 109,000 tonnes; length 290m; beam 36m; draft 8.45m) are also easily accommodated here with no requirement for infrastructural improvement.
∙ Post-Panamax ships larger than the “Grand Princess Class,” such as Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas (GRT 158,000; length 339m; beam 39m; draft 8.59m) may also visit ports such as St. John’s in very specific circumstances.
· There is no present need to undertake any infrastructural improvements to accommodate cruise ships in the Port of St. John’s in the foreseeable future; but the matter is worth re-visiting in five years time.

“We are pleased that the Port’s current infrastructure is more than adequate to handle all anticipated cruise ships in the near to mid-term; and we will prudently re-visit this issue in five years time so that we can re-evaluate the market and continue to consolidate the Port of St. John’s as a newly-emerging, premiere cruise ship destination,” said Hanrahan, who also added his appreciation of the City’s cost-sharing of this endeavour.

The St. John’s Port Authority is a financially self-sufficient Federal agency deriving all revenues solely from operations, and reinvesting all earnings into Port infrastructure and operations.  As a result of the Authority’s effective stewardship of the Port’s infrastructure, and the invaluable endeavours of the Port community, the Port of St. John’s has an estimated economic impact on the province of $278-million per annum, with an associated 3,157 direct and indirect jobs.

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For further information contact:
Sean Hanrahan, LL.B.,
President & CEO
St. John’s Port Authority
Telephone:  (709) 738-4780
Facsimile:   (709) 738-4784
E-mail:  info@sjpa.com