The Horizon which shifted to Hamilton from St. George's because of bad weather this week has left East End merchants fuming once again.

St. George's retailers and merchants claimed that the ship being forced to move early dealt them a financial blow that threatened their livelihood.

The claims came after the Horizon was forced to switch ports on Monday night instead of yesterday morning because there was a threat of bad weather.

The Captain and local officials decided to move the vessel early because high winds and low visibility would have prevented the ship passing safely through the narrow Town Cut channel.

Ships have been forced to move early for the same reason on previous occasions.

Although retailers agreed that weather could not be controlled, they said this was a problem that had been going on for too long and called for an alternative solution.

Crown Colony employee Faye Wilkinson voiced her disappointment at the repeated absences of the cruise ships.

"We've lost four ships in five weeks,'' Ms Wilkinson said. "Yes, we understand that when the wind goes up to 25 knots they have to shift, but when they go to Hamilton, we lose a lot.'' English Sports Shop manager Agnes Pitt added: "The ships are very important to us. They need to come up with a solution so that we don't lose business.'' Sinclair's souvenir shop owner Robert Sinclair said: "Definitely, when the ship is in, business is good. At the end of the day, when I ring off my register it tells a story and it's a good story.

"If someone said `hey, we don't need cruise ships down here', I'd have to say they need their head examined. It hurts when the Zenith has to come down and can't get in because of high winds.'' Retailers had their own suggestions about how to compensate for lost revenues.

Some of the ideas floated would be to widen Town Cut to allow the ships safer passage when weather turned bad or to provide free bus and ferry services in Hamilton to bring cruise ship passengers back to St. George's. In addition, retailers noted that when the ships shortened their stay in St. George's, visitors did not get a chance to experience the uniqueness the Old Town had to offer.

"It's a quiet town,'' Ms Wilkinson said.

"They (passengers) go to Hamilton and come back and say they wish they could have stayed here. Our prices are the same, and the service is better.'' Meyer agent Captain John Moore said he could sympathise with the loss of revenue for retailers and merchants but the weather was something that could not be controlled.

The main priority was for the safety of the ship and its passengers, he stressed. "Getting her in and out safely and securely is our concern,'' he said.

Yet St. George's residents said they hoped that locals would become more interested in the eastern end of the Island as a shopping alternative to Hamilton and Dockyard to compensate for the missed ships.

They invited residents to take advantage of what St. George's had to offer.

"We need to look at getting more business to this area,'' said Paradise Gift Shop Owner Terrence Roberts. "It's important that we ensure that the whole town survives and gets to see patronage from all over.'' BUSINESS BUC