Expect temporary closures of the Ogden Point breakwater and parts of the Lower Causeway on the Inner Harbour next year, the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority is warning, as it won’t have the money to do much-needed repairs of both facilities.
Ian Robertson, the authority’s chief executive, said with the expected loss of a full cruise-ship season this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the GVHA will lose about $11 million in cruise-ship passenger fees, or 70 per cent of its total revenue for 2020.
“The impact is significant,” said Robertson, who said they hope to get back to the break-even point in 2021 and then positive revenue in 2022.
“It means we won’t have the funding to do much of the work we planned on our community amenities.”
Robertson said that could mean closures for some. The harbour authority owns and operates 13 waterfront facilities, including Fisherman’s Wharf, the cruise-ship terminal, Ogden Point Breakwater, the causeway marina, Ship Point and the Steamship Terminal building.
The authority has laid off 23 staff members, a 50 per cent reduction, Robertson said.
It anticipates its annual $16 million in operating revenue will be trimmed down to about $5 million if it loses the entire cruise-ship season, which had been scheduled to start April 3, with more than 280 ship visits and in excess of 770,000 passengers expected at Ogden Point.
While the federal government has delayed the start of cruise-ship season until July 1, Robertson said he’s skeptical there will be any kind of season this year.
“We haven’t ruled out that we will see cruise ships in 2020, but I think it’s unlikely,” he said, adding there are still cruise-ship lines that have reserved berthing spaces in Victoria for later this year. “Some are not giving up on 2020.”
The harbour authority is focusing on getting ready for 2021, working with cruise lines, health authorities and governments to put in place whatever new measures are deemed appropriate, Robertson said.
Early indications are that the industry will rebound in 2021, he said, despite the economic and public-relations hit it took this year — the Miami Herald estimates there have been 65 COVID-19 related deaths linked to cruise ships, while some ships were stranded at sea for weeks because no port would accept them.
Robertson said the cruise lines have been working on winning back travellers’ trust, and some reports have already shown there are people willing to get on board again. “The one thing the [cruise lines] all say is that cruisers are very loyal.”
The Los Angeles Times reported this week that one online cruise marketplace saw a 40 per cent increase in bookings for 2021, compared with the same time last year. The story cited Swiss bank UBS’s study that claimed cruise-ship sales volume was up nine per cent over the last month.
Robertson said he has been told 76 per cent of cruise-ship passengers whose trips were cancelled this year have opted to take ship credit and travel next year, instead.
“Will the industry come back to what we had budgeted and forecast? I don’t think so, but it will return,” he said.
Paul Nursey, chief executive of Destination Greater Victoria, said he’s not yet ready to predict what will happen with cruise lines. “I believe we need to see this situation settle down a bit and time for these companies to make adaptations and changes, as all businesses are.”
The likeliest scenario is that recovery will begin in the short-haul tourism sector, with families driving to local getaways in their own vehicles, he said. “Then slowly, as restrictions are removed, there will be gradual recovery across all segments.”
The return of cruise ships next year would mean the harbour authority’s new $7-million mooring dolphin will finally get a workout. The 58-metre mooring dolphin, which will be used to accommodate cruise ships up to 350 metres in length at Ogden Point’s Pier B, has now been completed.
The structure, designed for vessels of approximately 225,000 gross tonnes, was originally supposed to be in place for the 2019 cruise ship season. However, in December 2018, the steel, weighing 362 tonnes, fell off a cargo ship coming from China in rough seas.
Last year Victoria hosted 257 ship calls, bringing 709,042 passengers and 294,956 crew to the city.
