No pilot - cruise ship dropped call at Shelburne
The "Balmoral" did not dock at Shelburne Harbour on Sep 17, 2014, as had been anticipated for many month because Shelburne officials were unable to supply a harbour pilot.
The captain was concerned about water depth in the new port of call so he wanted a harbour pilot and the town could not easily find a certified pilot for Shelburne.
There was only one certified pilot for the harbour and he was unavailable this week.
When a certified pilot was unavailable the port was dropped.
The "Balmoral" was on a 31-day cruise that began in Southampton, then made its way through the St. Lawrence River and further to New York.
Long expected ship
After months of hard work, the Balmoral Cruise ship with its 1,300passengers on board will not be stopping in Shelburne as planned.The decision came after a captain new to Canada had concerns about navigating the harbour without theaid of a harbour pilot.
“Pilots are not required in Shelburne Harbour and many large vessels have visited over theyears without the use of a pilot,” said Eyra Abraham, event and tourism coordinator for theLong-expected cruise ship to skipby Shelburne.
Harbour pilots are arranged by Transport Canada, but the one for this area is on a leave ofabsence.
“The captain will not take the risk upon himself to come to Shelburne,” said Abraham.This news came as a great disappointment to the many people in the community who hadplanned for the big arrival with food, tours and wares for the high number of expectedtourists.
The "Balmoral" did not dock at Shelburne Harbour on Sep 17, 2014, as had been anticipated for many month because Shelburne officials were unable to supply a harbour pilot.
The captain was concerned about water depth in the new port of call so he wanted a harbour pilot and the town could not easily find a certified pilot for Shelburne.
There was only one certified pilot for the harbour and he was unavailable this week.
When a certified pilot was unavailable the port was dropped.
The "Balmoral" was on a 31-day cruise that began in Southampton, then made its way through the St. Lawrence River and further to New York.
Long expected ship
After months of hard work, the Balmoral Cruise ship with its 1,300passengers on board will not be stopping in Shelburne as planned.The decision came after a captain new to Canada had concerns about navigating the harbour without theaid of a harbour pilot.
“Pilots are not required in Shelburne Harbour and many large vessels have visited over theyears without the use of a pilot,” said Eyra Abraham, event and tourism coordinator for theLong-expected cruise ship to skipby Shelburne.
Harbour pilots are arranged by Transport Canada, but the one for this area is on a leave ofabsence.
“The captain will not take the risk upon himself to come to Shelburne,” said Abraham.This news came as a great disappointment to the many people in the community who hadplanned for the big arrival with food, tours and wares for the high number of expectedtourists.