12/2/14
About eight years ago I attended a number of strategic planning meetings conducted by the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District (HBHRCD).
The possibility of attracting cruise ships was examined at length. In light of previous attempts and what was learned during those meetings, I was surprised to read that the HBHRCD, Humboldt County, and city of Eureka had allocated $10,000 each to jointly hire a consultant to solicit cruise ships again.
One of the hurdles is a provision of the Jones Act enacted about 100 years ago that prohibits any foreign registered cruise ship from stopping at two consecutive U.S.
mainland ports. The objective was to protect the US shipping industry, but unfortunately almost all cruise ships are of foreign registry for a number of reasons. The USA Today article “Why Are Cruise Ships Registered in Foreign Countries” at www.usatoday.com/story/travel/ cruises/2012/12/11/why-arecruise- ships-registered-in-foreign- countries/1760759/ explains why.
This means we are basically limited to attracting “repositioning” cruise ships, which relocate seasonally from northern to southern ports in the fall and back again the next spring. These tend to carry fewer and older passengers. For more information and food for thought, visit www.repositioncruises.com. For example, we would be looking for cruise ships repositioning from Alaska to Mexico to entice here. However, due to the Jones Act, any foreign-registered ship could not have departed from a U.S.
mainland port prior to arrival in our port, nor visit another mainland U.S. port prior to arrival in Mexico. Even so, numerous west coast ports compete for that limited segment of the cruise market to fill berths that might otherwise be empty during the offseason.
There was also concern that due to Homeland Security regulations, the inner channel could be virtually shut down when the cruise ship is docked on the Eureka side of the bay.
Another hurdle for communities that came out of the Harbor District meetings is that cruise line companies often seek waivers or reductions in port and dock fees. This explains why commercial dock operators are generally not interested in the cruise business. The public sector is often asked to build and maintain facilities on the premise of money that will be brought into the community and jobs created. Economic projections presented by promoters should be carefully scrutinized, utilizing recognized cost accounting methods and local feasibility studies.
When I asked an elected board member about previous efforts and reports, the reply was that the person being considered (Bruce Conner from Astoria) has “real world experience” and “documented success on this route”. Indeed, for many years we were members of the Cruise the West program. In fact, Mr. Conner is still listed as Cruise Marketing Director on the Astoria link at www.cruisethewest. com, which is a simple 14page site with no interactivity. As you look over the website, you will see there is really very little substance — lists of attractions and a few links to Chamber of Commerce and local hotel websites. A glance at the source code indicates the site was last updated in 2007.
In fact, the “Suggested Itineraries” PDF file link at http://www.cruisethewest.com/pdf/CTW_ShoreEx_Current.pdf includes a Eureka “Shore Excursions” section on pages 25 and 26 that still lists (former) contacts Wilson Lacy (HBHRCD), Don Leonard (Cruise the West rep), and David Hull (HBHRCD). In addition, Eureka is included in multi-port cruises on pages 7, 12, and 14, itineraries that are not possible for any foreign-registered cruise ship due to the Jones Act.
The supporting documents for HBHRCD’s Nov. 13, 2014 meeting included a draft of the “Agreement for Professional Services” between the Harbor District and Mr. Conner. It is a simple three-page document with a one-page scope of work. If future due diligence so dictates, there is a 30-day notice termination clause, but it’s not clear how much of our $30,000 would be refunded in that case.
Dave Spreen resides in Kneeland.
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