St. George's Mayor Henry Hayward has called for Government to get a move on with widening Town Cut after lamenting lost cruise business which he said cost the town $100,000 each time a ship does not dock in the old town.

So far this season the town has missed out on a visit from the Horizon three times after high winds stopped the ship negotiating the narrow harbour entrance between the southernmost tip of St. George's Island and Higgs Island.

The visits translate into the loss of 4,002 passengers. The town has also suffered late appearances of the Zenith.

Local traders have called for harbour modifications after losing vital business after a slow summer season.

Mr. Hayward said: "It's got to be done in the future. There was supposed to be money put in to build up a fund but I haven't heard anything.

"When they introduced the cabin tax for cruise ships that revenue was supposed to go in a fund to improve St. George's and Hamilton harbours, for dredging and all that stuff. I am going back four or five years ago," he continued. "It's something we will follow up with three out of four trips being missed.

"It certainly affects the economy. We are trying to find out what the existing position is now."

St. George's MP Delaey Robinson pointed out that revenue was still kept in Bermuda when the cruise ships diverted to the capital and that many stores had branches in both locations.

But he added: "For the St. George's public of course it's a substantial loss and for people who only have operations in St. George's. I feel for them."

He said they had been widening the channel in St. George's over a number of years but ships had been getting bigger and bigger.

"I don't know if they will have to blow up an island to make it safely navigable in all weathers."

He said it was strange ships couldn't negotiate the narrow St. George's channel but could negotiate a narrow channel several miles to Hamilton.

Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell said the cabin tax had never been set up specifically to invest in harbour changes but had been a fund for tourism infrastructure.

He said a feasibility study needed to be done to assess exactly what changes might be needed at Town Cut and what they would cost.

And he said Government should look for ships that were small enough to get in without any trouble before spending any money.

He said: "The industry is building smaller ships."