Impacts of cruise ship anchoring during COVID-19: Management failures and lessons learnt

The Government of Barbados welcomed cruise ships during the early COVID-19 period of 2020, allowing them to seek safe harbour at a time when many countries were turning them away. A total of 28 cruise ships were given unprecedented permission to anchor along the west and south coasts of the island during this period (1 March – 1 September 2020). This study examines the 132 anchoring events of these cruise ships, using automatic identification system (AIS) data to determine anchored locations and track vessel swing at anchor in relation to sensitive coral-rich habitat. These data, together with SCUBA surveys on several anchoring sites were used to describe the nature of the habitat damage and to assess the potential area of impacts on coastal marine habitats. The huge anchors and hundreds of metres of chain required to secure these mega-vessels, together with their typical wide swinging motion dragging the anchor chain over the bottom are estimated to have caused thousands of square metres of structural damage to the island’s valuable coral reefs. This study revealed weaknesses in coral conservation policy and practise to which the Government of Barbados has responded. A stated new Government policy prohibits cruise ships from anchoring on the coral-rich west coast and restricts anchoring to the designated anchorage on the south coast. Additional cruise ships that cannot be accommodated in the anchorage are now being asked to use their dynamic positioning system or to drift offshore.