Bar Harbor suspends cruise ship visits through April
File photo / Laurie Schreiber
Bar Harbor councilors said they’d been approached by numerous residents concerned about the imminent arrival of cruise ships.
The Bar Harbor Town Council Monday night suspended cruise ship visits until at least April 30.
The action was part of an emergency order that also closed all municipal facilities to the public and suspended non-emergency municipal meetings, both until March 30, in order to reduce the potential of coronavirus transmission.
Bar Harbor is Maine’s largest cruise ship port, with 198 ships scheduled to visit this season. Two ships are scheduled for late April, followed by 21 throughout May.
Councilor Joe Minutolo said he’d been approached by numerous local residents.
“They think something should be done because of the unknowns,” he said. “There’s already enough panic out there as it is.”
On March 13, Canada banned cruise ships carrying more than 500 passengers through July 1, according to maritime-executive.com.
Many of the ships that travel to Bar Harbor include Canada in their itineraries.
The cruise ship suspension came two days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a 30-day “no sail order” for cruise ships effective March 14 and subject to renewal.
The March 14 order pertains to cruise ships that carry 250 or more passengers and crew.
Cruise Lines International Association, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group, issued an order for all ocean-going cruise lines to suspend cruise ship operations from U.S. ports of call for 30 days, effective March 14.
“There won’t be a ship sailing in the U.S. that’s a CLIA member before April 15,” Eben Salvatore, a member of the town’s cruise ship committee, told the council. “If we get ships in June or July remains to be seen.”
The suspension will give the town until May 1 to reassess the situation, noted Councilor Jill Goldthwait. Salvatore said his committee would continuously monitor the situation.
“We need to make sure this thing is under control before we bring large quantities of people ashore,” said Minutolo.
“We've got a worldwide pandemic; people are concerned,” said Councilor Gary Friedmann. “We can say no.”
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