The ferry route from Dockyard to St George’s will resume tomorrow, the Ministry of Transport announced tonight.

Lawrence Scott, the Minister of Transport, said his ministry was committed to running the Orange ferry schedule in time for cruise ship arrivals in October through to December.

The route was suspended on August 8 because of concerns about the safe disembarkation for passengers and crew. The move sparked a backlash from St George’s business owners who said it was another blow to the economy in the East End.

Renée Ming, MP for St George’s North, and Kim Swan, MP for St George’s West, spoke out against their own party saying in a joint statement “everything must be done” to ensure work on a ferry dock was completed in short order or rescheduled.

In a statement on the ferry return, Mr Scott said: “This announcement is no doubt welcome news for our cruise visitors and our business partners in St George’s.”

Speaking on overall cruise numbers this year, he added: “As of October 5, 39 more calls in the fourth quarter period are estimated to bring a further 63,778 passengers to Bermuda by the end of the year.

“We anticipate that by the end of the season, approximately 166 cruise calls, with around 374,365 passengers, will visit our shores, representing 92,524 more passengers or an additional $24.9 million of an economic impact than initially forecasted, totalling an estimated economic impact of $156.1 million.”