November 16, 2012Dear Sir,Although I usually agree with Peter Bromby’s letters to the editor, I feel that I must take exception to his suggestion in his letter of October 9, 2012 that we use local boats to transfer cruise ship passengers ashore. It is far too dangerous to rely on local tourist boats for such a job, as cruise ships attract a good number of elderly and handicapped people. The tenders used by the ships are specially designed for easy access and to accommodate these and other passengers, and are always manned by stalwart men, quite capable of lifting passengers on board if necessary. Some time ago I was on a ship anchored in Grassy Bay, and the captain was in despair as he had been told that he would not be allowed to use his tenders. He was threatening to boycott Bermuda, as he could not risk the safety of his passengers being transported on boats not insured by his shipping line. Plus the fact that passengers need a reliable service that plies back and forth all day; when one tender leaves the ship, another leaves the dock, and this is the way it is in all the many ports around the world where the big ships cannot come alongside.Fortunately for the captain, a fellow Bermudian took the initiative to fax David Dodwell, who was the Minister of Tourism at the time, and permission was granted for the ship to use her own tenders. The captain was extremely grateful, and the passengers enjoyed a pleasant day in Bermuda. Quite apart from the inconvenience and chaos of having local tour boats do the job, who would pay for it? Do you think the cruise ships will agree to pay for a service that they can do much better themselves? We have already lost Crystal Cruises because they were told that they could not use their own tenders. They have never been back. When we get a change of Government, let us hope that one of the first messages that will be given to our valuable cruise ships, is that they are welcome to use their own tenders to ship their passengers ashore. This will surely encourage more ships to anchor in the Sound, and bring more business to Hamilton. More tourists means more people taking boat tours, so everyone wins.E RABENPaget