Devon Evans, Gleaner Writer

Ocho Rios, St. Ann:

There is growing concern among members of the Inbond Merchants Association about the unsightly state of the old Reynold's Bauxite Pier in the port of Ocho Rios, and the negative impact it is having on cruise shipping business.

Vice-president of the association, Kumar Sujanani, said the lack of proper facilities, coupled with the unattractiveness of the pier, is costing Ocho Rios millions of dollars in lost revenue.

He explained that several ships have refused to dock in Ocho Rios when only the Reynolds Pier is available to them.

Needs upgrading

"Clearly, the town of Ocho Rios needs additional berthing facilities," Mr. Sujanani said. "There is no doubt that we have been losing cruise ships and we have been downgraded from being a prime cruise ship destination and a number one port facility to a lesser grade; no doubt because of the fact that we need to upgrade our berthing facilities."

He pointed out that the pier at Reynolds was not suitable for cruise ship berthing and needs to be improved and brought up to the standard expected by the cruise lines.

The In Bond Merchants Associa-tion's vice-president wants the Government to make a decision on the future of Ocho Rios, and whether it should be a cruise port or a mining port, because having both operations at one port is not good for tourism.

Last week, chairman of the Ocho Rios cruise shipping council, Michael Belnavis, reported that operators of cruise lines and their passengers were complaining about the dirty and unsightly state of the old Reynolds Pier in Ocho Rios.