More cruise ships expected after Summerside harbour dredging

The Port of Summerside has called for tenders for dredging its harbour and the channel.

The harbour is usually dredged every eight years to get rid of excessive sand and silt to ensure proper depth in the channel, but it has been 13 years since the work was last done.

Arnold Croken, CEO of the Port of Summerside, says conditions seem to be improving so the work hasn't been needed as frequently.

He said the dredging this year will be welcome news for the commercial shipping industry and could help in efforts to attract some smaller cruise ship traffic.

"The cruise industry is as eager, I guess, as the commercial cargo haulers in seeing us do this because we do have a number of smaller 500-600 passenger cruise ships that are interested in coming to Summerside, and I suspect they will be coming in here after we get the dredging done."

Tenders close on June 28 and work is expected to begin by mid-October. It's expected to cost between $2.5 million and $3 million, Croken said.

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