Falmouth is witness to the trend for larger ships and intent on catering to their needs. This year saw 33 calls and 21,211 passengers visiting while for 2010 there are fewer calls at 21 but a similar number of passengers at 21,324.
The port is working on getting a new deeper channel dredged to a minimum of 8.3m and a berth extended to 400m length and dredged to 9.5m according to Mike Reynolds, port operations director. The new facility is designed around the 154,000gt Freedom of Sea-class vessels from Royal Caribbean International.
A £0.5m (E0.56m) environmental impact assessment has been completed and applications have been made for dredging licences. With the harbour and bay being designated a European Union Special Area of Conservation, costs have doubled to almost £30m (E33.6m) to allow for environmentally sensitive dredging methods and bringing contaminated spoil on to land for treatment/disposal.
However with the support of local authorities and private funding, Mr Reynolds is hopeful that the project will be completed by summer 2012 at the latest.
At present, the majority of ships come alongside at one of the three quays available which range in length from 200m to 235m with a maximum depth of 8m. There is anchorage for ships of less than 200m length a 15-minute tender ride away with larger ships 20 minutes away.
