Norwegian Sun Expected in Eastport

A second dormant cruise ship -- even larger than the Riviera -- is expected to arrive in Eastport in mid to late July, docking at the Estes Head cargo pier. As with the Riviera, the 848-foot Norwegian Sun will be sent to the island city by Norwegian Cruise Line so that its vessels will not be in Florida during the hurricane season.
Before the ship sails, though, the governor's office is requesting, as it did with the first cruise ship, to know whether the city council supports having the ship in Eastport, even though it will be at the port authority's Estes Head pier. The council is scheduled to vote on the matter during a Friday, June 26, meeting being held at 5 p.m. via Zoom. After several meetings by the council and the port authority board and lively debate within the city about the proposal to dock the Riviera at the Eastport breakwater, with concerns expressed about the coronavirus, the council had voted 4-1 on May 20 to support that proposal.
Concerning the Norwegian Sun, Chris Gardner, executive director of the Eastport Port Authority, comments, "There are no reported cases of COVID-19 at any time on the ship, according to documentation." The port authority is obtaining approval for having the ship dock in Eastport from the U.S. Coast Guard, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Maine Department of Transportation, following the same provisions as were required by the state for approval for the Riviera to dock in Eastport. "If any of the regulatory agencies have any issues, we won't bring the ship in," he says.
Currently there are 145 crew on the Norwegian Sun, although that number could change. Norwegian Cruise Line is requesting for the ship to be allowed to dock until the end of August, and then any further requests will be on a month-to-month basis. Gardner notes that the cruise industry recently announced it would be suspending all activities until the end of September, so he expects that both ships may remain in Eastport until then. Each of the vessels will be paying the port authority about $50,000 a month, which will be used as payment on the $1.1 million loan that the port authority took out to pay its share of the $15 million breakwater rebuilding project.
"With the outlook with cargo, there are so few ships coming now," Gardner says of the port authority's financial position this year. "This is a way for us to use the Estes Head pier" and also put the Federal Marine Terminals crew to work.
If a cargo ship does come to the port, the cruise ship will have to either be anchored in the bay or go out to sea during that time. However, Gardner notes that cargo shipping is down, with few vessels coming to be loaded with wood pulp at the port terminal. "It doesn't appear as though things are going to turn around," he says. "The downturn has gone on longer than we anticipated. We need to utilize our assets."