Abstract

The Government of Barbados welcomed cruise ships during the early COVID-19 period of 2020, offering them safe harbour and use of the island’s port facilities, at a time when many other countries were turning them away. A total of 28 cruise ships were allowed 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, assesses their impacts on coastal marine habitats and reveals weaknesses in coral conservation policy. Thousands of square metres of coral habitat were badly damaged as a consequence of permitted anchoring. This damage has negative implications for the island’s nearshore fisheries and tourism that rely heavily on healthy reef ecosystem services. The huge anchors and hundreds of metres of chain required to secure these mega-vessels, and the wide arc covered by the vessels as they swing at anchor were poorly understood when anchoring locations were assigned. The study highlights important lessons learned regarding the extent of critical coral habitat that can be damaged by cruise ship anchoring; the lack of suitable anchoring grounds for cruise ships in the coral rich waters of Barbados; and the policy response of the Barbados government. These harsh lessons deserve to be shared with other cruise ship destinations across the Caribbean, to prevent similar unnecessary loses to the region’s coral reefs on which many national economies depend for fisheries and tourism.

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