Last January, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines faced an unanticipated problem that required an inventive solution.
The problem: The cruise line’s Voyager-class Explorer promised New England fall-foliage cruises, but while this mega ship was scheduled to drop anchor in Bar Harbor fully equipped with state-of-the-art amenities like oxygen therapy and kidney dialysis, it would not have the capability to ferry guests ashore. Ships of this size typically dock only in ports with accommodating terminals, and Bar Harbor doesn’t have such a facility. Yet the port remains the gateway to the highly popular Acadia National Park, so Royal Caribbean couldn’t nix Maine’s “marquee” port of call from the Explorer’s hot new itinerary without a little creative thinking.
The solution: Royal Caribbean’s Captain Tellef Lie Nielsen, nautical port developer, enlisted the services of Michael Siemion, general manager of Bar Harbor Whale Watch, a subsidiary of Ocean Properties. “Royal Caribbean would have had to cancel because they had no lifeboats or tenders of their own,” says Siemion. “Mega-ships carrying more than 3,000 passengers would need to carry 15 to 20 tender ships. They also need a stable platform.”
So over last spring and summer, Siemion oversaw the development and construction of two barges, each 15 by 40 feet with movable hydraulic ramps — an innovative vehicle for moving passengers from any mega-ship deck down to an awaiting barge in Bar Harbor, where tender boats can then ferry groups ashore. Experts in Indiana designed the blueprint, the components were built primarily in Ellsworth and the final product was assembled in Bar Harbor. This contraption cost approximately $100,000, according to Siemion and in September, it enabled Explorer passengers to disembark.
Looking forward, Siemion is convinced that this moveable feast of hydraulic lifts will also be able to accommodate other vessels, including jumbo vessels sailed by Cunard, Princess and Holland-America Cruises. “Our thought is that this will definitely make Bar Harbor Maine’s number one destination,” asserts Siemion.
Portland, on the other hand, desperately needs a mega berth to handle these ships. For example, in the weeks before the Explorer made its maiden voyage to Portland, employees of the city’s Ports and Transportation Department worked overtime to assure its safe docking. “I was crunching numbers from the blueprint of the ship — the hold shell doors needed to match up on the pier’s gangways,” explains Patrick Arnold, assistant operations manager for the City of Portland.
Meanwhile, John Totman, property assistant operation manager, dropped measuring devices towards the shallow side of the pier, to see how deep the water was, determining just how close the Explorer could safely berth.
Portland’s problem does not stop with one ship’s arrival. In 2007, of 31 cruise ship calls (with one port call equaling one day spent on a ship), 27 were what Arnold describes as “modern-day cruise ships,” carrying a minimum of 2,000 passengers.
Of course, easy berthing of cruise ships this size would be delivered without a hitch this coming May, when the new Ocean Gateway terminal opens — if the newly completed facility included the “mega berth” contained in the original plans for Phase Two of this waterfront project.
Estimated to cost approximately $6 million, according to Jeff Monroe, director of Ports and Transportation for Portland, Phase Two needs funding. Leading up to the deadlocked City Council vote on Sept. 16 to select the winner of the Maine State Pier RFP, both developers mentioned an interest in paying for the project, but not a blank check for building the mega berth.
Aleksandar (Sasa) Milosavljevic-Cook, Olympia Company’s project manager, noted that his firm’s proposal of last February had the foresight to include a request for right of first refusal to build the mega berth. Meanwhile Bob Baldacci, Ocean Properties’ vice president, had this to say about paying for Phase Two of Ocean Gateway: “It’s worth considering, but it’s not a slam dunk. If we were selected we would explore the idea, but we’d consider not only building but also operating it – because we’re in that business already.”
When the Portland city council first voted on Maine State Pier Sept. 16, the tally was split, 4-4, and of all the pressing matters piled high on thick tables – city planners’ color-coded notebooks and both developers’ more than $100 million, voluminous, ever-changing plans – the issue of Ocean Gateway’s mega berth funding divided the council convened. Councilor Ed Suslovic, known to be the swing vote, joined forces with Councilors Leeman, Donoghue and Marshall in voting for Olympia, using his position to lobby for adding a $6 million bill to the victor, so the city could pay for the mega berth.