Recent funding announcements from the Canadian and New Brunswick governments and Port Saint John include a major harbor deepening program that will eliminate tidal challenges for cruise ships.
The seven-year, $205 million project, which is a 3-way funding partnership, involves major capital work at the Port’s West Side cargo handling piers and facilities but will also include capital dredging of the main channel.
The main channel will be deepened from 8.4 to 10 meters (chart datum).
The deepening extends the operational window for ships and will make Port Saint John more accessible to large vessels, including cruise ships.
A deeper channel will provide cruise vessels the ability to dock at either high or low tide. No longer reliant on the tides, cruise operations will experience an end to schedule challenges due to tidal restrictions and cruise itinerary planners will gain the opportunity to lengthen the day for cruise guests.
After more than a quarter century, the cruise industry at Port Saint John is well-established.
Recent milestones have included the Port’s 2-millionth cruise guest and 1,000th cruise ship visit.
The cruise marketing and operations team at Port Saint John look forward to including a deeper harbor to the roster of benefits available to cruise lines calling at Saint John.
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