When it comes to berthing a dormant cruise ship at the breakwater in Eastport, the decision‑making process has been multi‑layered and, at times, frustrating for all involved, whether for or against its presence at the island city.
     On May 20 the Eastport City Council held a special meeting to vote on whether it would write a letter of support to the office of Governor Janet Mills, which had requested the letter after being contacted on May 5 by Eastport Health Care CEO Ellen Krajewski in her capacity as a healthcare leader with her concerns about public health and safety. After 35 minutes of discussion the council voted to write a letter of support for the berthing of the Riviera, with all councillors in support except for Hailley Bradbury.
      Eastport Port Authority Executive Director Chris Gardner explains that even with council support, the decision is ultimately up to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), which would issue a notice of departure only if the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grants approval.      However, the USCG was waiting to hear from the governor's office before making its decision. He hoped that the port would receive notice one way or the other before the end of May.
     Prior to its May 20 vote, the councillors held four public virtual meetings to discuss the issue and participated with others in a conference call with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) on May 14 to broaden their understanding of berthing specifics. In addition, the Eastport Port Authority's regular monthly meeting held virtually on May 19 was attended by a number of interested residents.
     At the heart of the concern held by some residents and healthcare professionals is whether or not the 100 or so crew members would pose a public health threat to Eastport, which has a large population of older adults and limited healthcare resources should COVID‑19 land on its shores. Gardner has stressed that the Riviera crew would stay on board for the entirety of the berthing period and would have no contact or interaction with anyone on land other than with the pilot who would bring the ship to berth. The new scenario is called a "hot lay‑up," meaning that the ship has enough crew on board to man the ship when it comes time to leave Eastport, rather than needing to transport additional crew to the island before it could leave. However, if any crew member needed to disembark, Gardner notes that disembarking "is governed fully by the CDC. The port is not involved."
     Initially NCL had planned a "cold lay‑up" that would have had a significant portion of the crew disembark for private transport to their final home destinations, with a crew of about 38 to stay on board for the duration of the berthing. In both cases, the remaining crew includes a doctor and two nurses.

Concerns expressed by residents and healthcare providers
     The Riviera is listed by the federal CDC as having one COVID‑19 case traced to the ship back in early March. However, Gardner explains that the ship's chief medical officer, Dr. Carlos Gonzales, stated that they "never actually had any confirmed cases on board." There was one passenger in March who was taken for other health reasons to Puerto Rico by medevac. The passenger then tested positive for the virus later on.
     Gonzales reported under threat of penalty that the ship "is perfectly clean ship right now, with zero cases as of today." Gardner has stressed that the ship's crew has been quarantined on the ship for over a month, with no virus detected since. The crew members have their temperature and oxygen levels tested twice a day, but they have not been tested for the coronavirus because none have become symptomatic. There are two intensive care units on the Riviera. "They seem to be taking what reasonable steps they can," he says. "The Coast Guard is putting a tremendous amount of scrutiny on these vessels." He stated that the port authority has to trust that the CDC, Coast Guard and Customs and Border Patrol "are doing their job."
     Eastport Health Care CEO Krajewski participated on the May 14 NCL conference call and says that it was informative. "I learned more about the safety and health protocols and reporting requirements the cruise line must follow. If they are allowed to dock, it would be safest to test all the crew as soon as possible. Limited testing and safety supplies will likely prevent that. A true commitment to adhere to all safety guidelines by everyone on the ship and in our community would significantly mitigate risk of COVID‑19 transmission. I do not know if that is possible to achieve."
     In addition to Krajewski's concerns about public health in her capacity as CEO of the Eastport Health Center, Dr. Jenie Smith and Pam Koenig, FNP, both Eastport residents, expressed numerous concerns during the different virtual meetings. Both felt that any remuneration received by the port authority for berthing did not make up for the risk to the community of having the ship in port. Smith said at the May 12 meeting, "I still haven't heard what is the concrete benefit other than profit" to the port authority.

Berthing fees would pay down breakwater loan
     The port authority stands to earn almost $50,000 per month from the Riviera. The funds would be used as payment on the $1.1 million loan taken out in January 2018 to pay the port authority's share of the $15 million breakwater rebuilding project. The annual loan payment is a little over $98,000, with the harbor committee paying $28,670 and the port authority the remaining balance. In addition, the port authority subsidizes about $10,000 of insurance costs for the breakwater and the fish pier, and starting in 2013 had spent an additional $500,000 on breakwater repair and engineering permitting in preparation for the 2018 loan project. With a reduction in port activity because of the pandemic's impact on world markets, the port has seen and continues to anticipate a decline in its revenue, thus making the berthing fees an important potential revenue stream.
     Both piers were turned over to the port authority by the Eastport City Council after the breakwater collapsed in late 2014. The city had allowed the insurance to lapse and could not afford to rebuild, repair or maintain either. Gardner notes that the port authority has been planning to apply for additional grants that would require matching funds "to rehab the fish pier, finish the breakwater wing‑wall [extending from the pier to the dolphin], plus the pilings under the '85 piece that didn't get worked on. We're going to have to come up with a portion" of the funds, which would likely be in the form of a loan for up to $1 million. He adds that the community couldn't afford to pay for it through real estate taxes, so it's up to the port authority.
     City Manager Thomas Hoskins also outlined the importance of the revenue in response to Smith's query. He said, "This ship will pay down debt on the breakwater." He added, "The city doesn't have the ability to pay that kind of bill. ... It's a way for the city to sustain the breakwater that no citizen in Eastport pays taxes on." In response to the suggestion from Pam Koenig that the port authority pays no real estate taxes, Gardner responded that the port authority pays between $30,000 and $40,000 a year in taxes on all its property except for Estes Head.
     The cruise line wants to bring the ship to Eastport, Gardner noted at the port's board meeting, because all of the cruise lines are trying to get out of Florida during the hurricane season, with New England being a popular spot to bring the vessels. Captain Bob Peacock, a port authority board member and ship's pilot, commented, "There's not enough dock space around the U.S. to dock all of these ships." He added, "The crews are much more leery about getting COVID from us than we are from them."
     As for media reports that Norwegian Cruise Line is not interested in following CDC guidelines and has been close to bankruptcy, Gardner said that the port authority has asked its legal team at Rudman Winchell to look into those reports and concerns about payment. As he noted during one of the council meetings, the legal team would also create any contract with NCL for the berthing fees and conditions, including receiving payment in advance for the month's fee. In addition, the port authority would be happy to assist the city or Passamaquoddy Water District (PWD) should either feel that it needs advice on setting up a contract for receiving a partial payment up front in advance of services rendered.

Ship logistics
     During the different public meetings, additional concerns about how the ship would operate were raised by residents. Gardner explained that it isn't up to the port authority to provide the ship with services but that it did give the names of some service providers for the ship's information. The ship will decide who to contract with for food and other ship supplies, water, sewage waste and garbage removal. However, Gardner said that after talking with the PWD and the director of the city's wastewater treatment plant, he relayed to NCL that these providers would be able to offer services to the ship. Ship's garbage would be contracted with a southern Maine company, the only one certified in the state to handle such garbage, he said.
     At the May 12 meeting, Pam Koenig agreed with port authority board member Earl Small when he said that he was more concerned about contracting the coronavirus from people coming into town than from the ship. She said, "There's little risk from getting the virus from the ship." She added that she felt the bigger issue is whether the city should consider itself a shipyard with long‑term docking. "I understand the economics... but think the port probably does have options."
     The other option, noted by a number of residents, would be the Estes Head pier on the other side of the island. However, Gardner and Peacock explained that Estes Head does not have wastewater treatment hook‑up. Sewage waste would have to be loaded into trucks and transported to the plant.      In addition, Gardner said that despite a decline in activity because of the pandemic, the port is still active with cargo ships, which would mean moving the cruise ship a few times a month. "Every time [we] move vessels it's an undertaking."
     Steve Koenig then asked if the ship posed a threat to the breakwater. "Is the wharf designed to handle a ship of this size?" Peacock responded that the cruise ship would be the least tonnage in a large ship that the port has had in some time. The breakwater is designed for 50,000 to 60,000 in dead weight tons, about six to seven times more than the Riviera has in dead weight, he explained.
Resident Marlene Russ wanted to know if the ship's engines would be running all the time, causing noise and water and air pollution. Gardner explained that the ship's engines would not be on. The ship's electrical needs would be met by one diesel generator, placed on the bay side of the ship, that would be the size of a tractor trailer engine. He also addressed concerns about harm to marine mammals. "We make sure that ships know about right whales and that they're a big issue."
     Pointing to the lack of transparency in the decision‑making process, Dr. Jenie Smith said at the May 12 meeting, "because of that it would be difficult to have trust that protocols would be followed." Chrys Landrigan, PA, agreed with Smith, saying that while the risk of the disease coming ashore was small, the risk was still there.
     At the port authority's May 22 meeting, Gardner apologized to those "who feel we have not done a good enough job" in communicating with the public about the cruise ship proposal.