Press Release: National Trust for the Cayman Islands opposed to developing cruise berthing infrastructure
22 April 2025– The National Trust circulated an online public survey last month which included a question about which news items were of most interest. The majority of respondents chose ‘Cruise Ship Port Referendum’ as their first choice. Accordingly, in light of this public input, we want to make clear our position that the National Trust remains opposed to developing cruise berthing infrastructure because it is not in the best interest of the Cayman Islands.
The National Trust has long held deep concerns over the massive investment and construction of a cruise berthing facility in George Town Harbour, and the threat that mass cruise tourism would pose to the economic, socio-cultural and environmental sustainability of our island. In 2018, the National Trust membership voted to come out against the project proposed by the then PPM government. Our original concerns have not changed and are increased by the lack of information supporting the referendum question. These reasons for concern are:
Lack of substance to referendum question
The referendum expects the public to blindly answer the question “Should the Cayman Islands develop cruise berthing infrastructure” without providing any information on its design, location, business model, feasibility or the long-term economic, social and environmental effects. As the referendum is non-binding, the next administration can either choose to ignore the wish of the people or can claim it gives them carte blanche to proceed with whatever cruise berthing proposal they wish.
Environmental concerns and carrying capacity
Building any sort of cruise berthing facility would be detrimental to the current condition of George Town Harbour, which is a globally recognized Mission Blue Hope Spot. Dredging to create the depth needed for mega ships will raise silt which will smother and kill coral in its proximity, and the effect of pouring tons of toxic concrete into the water to create the structure will exacerbate this.
Even with a pier built on pilings, the increased activity of more vessels manoeuvring and mooring closer to shore will continue to negatively impact our crystal-clear waters and coral. Given that Eden Rock and other snorkelling and dive sites around the port are extremely popular with visitors, it seems counterproductive to jeopardise these much-loved natural attractions.
While theoretically more visitors would translate into more business for tour operators and businesses involved in cruise tourism, it is vital to look at the complete picture. Chasing cruise visitor levels of over 3 million a year would vastly increase the waste, pollution and traffic that the port currently sees and severely overcrowd our most popular natural attractions, such as Stingray City and Public Beach, which are already overwhelmed at our current level of 1 to 2 million visitors a year.
Grand Cayman is a small island, and our valued attractions simply do not have the carrying capacity for such numbers. It would be more prudent and beneficial to Cayman’s overall tourism industry to create new attractions and tours, which would reduce the overcrowding and abuse of the limited marine sites, meet demands from visitors for more cultural experiences, and create new jobs and business opportunities for Caymanians. Read more
To read the FULL press release, click here
“Beyond The Debate and Into The Data: Cruise Tourism in Cayman”- Marla Dukharan
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