Eastport, Maine, becomes temporary home for idled cruise ships
First ship to tie up becomes a tourist attraction for people in nearby eastern Maine towns
The tiny Maine city of Eastport is finding itself in the unusual position of playing host indefinitely to a cruise ship sidelined by the COVID-19 crisis.
The Oceania Cruises ship Riviera arrived minus passengers just over a week ago and could be tied up for months in the out-of-the-way coastal community of 1,250 people.
A second ship, NCL's Norwegian Sun, could join the Riviera within days.
Port Authority executive director Chris Gardner likens Eastport's sudden attraction to a children's game.
"The system is designed to have all these cruise ships at sea," said Gardner. "So when they all have to tie up at once, it's like a big game of musical chairs. Music stops, not enough chairs."
The Riviera has called in Canada's Maritime provinces in the past and it visited Saint John four times last fall.
The ship normally has a crew of 800 and can carry 1,250 passengers.
And while it's now offering a backdrop for residents of New Brunswick's Deer and Campobello islands, just a kilometre or two off the Eastport waterfront, it towers over the two-storey buildings in the Maine city's pocket-sized downtown.
The ship's 131 crew are quarantined on board and will remain there for the time being.
But that hasn't stopped eastern Maine residents from turning out for the rare sight of an 800-foot ship tied up at the wharf.
Businessman Kevin Raye said it's been a lifesaver for shops and restaurants in the community that had seen business drop to 15 to 30 per cent of normal levels since the pandemic crisis hit.
"All the people have been coming into town from the neighbouring towns and it's been a godsend," said Raye, who owns Rayes Mustard Mill, a 120-year-old business in Eastport.
"It adds a bit of an air of excitement, a little bit of a festive feeling when you drive downtown and the ship is right there, even though there are very few people on it."
Gardner said the community took a cautious approach to the cruise lines' requests. The decision was approved by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard, the state governor's office, the port authority's board of directors, and Eastport city council.
That same approval process is now underway for the Norwegian Sun. Gardner said the port collects $2 per foot per day for the Riviera and would collect the same for the second ship, a completely unplanned bonus for the port.
All the new money is being directed to paying down the $1.1 million debt on a new breakwater.
"Every community is waking up to the reality that they're going to have to figure out how to do the summer of 2020 with less," said Gardner.
"Eastport has an opportunity to be one of the few communities that say, 'OK, we're going to do 2020 with something we've never had before.'"
Is there a possibility more idle cruise ships could be coming Eastport's way?
"We're out of piers," said Gardner.
A spokesperson for Port Saint John said Transport Canada regulations currently do not permit cruise ships to come to ports in this country.
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