PROVINCETOWN – Provincetown will see more traffic from cruise ships on MacMillan Pier this year and the town is proposing hiking fees for the vessels.
Harbormaster and Pier Manager Rex McKinsey says the Provincetown Public Pier Corporation has been charging fees from the 1990s at $500 per port call and $1 per passenger.
“The idea is that everybody on this pier that is out here making money as a business should be paying a market rate for the maintenance of the pier,” McKinsey said. “The cruise ships will be in that category as well.”
The proposed increases would charge ships $1,000 to port and then $2.50 per person for vessels with less than 250 passengers, $5 for medium sized ships between 251 and 2,000 passengers and $8.50 per person for larger ships.
The proposal comes as the town is set to see more cruise ship traffic this year. Four ships will use the pier this spring with nine docking in the summer and seven more in the fall. There were only three ships to make port in Provincetown last year.
The town conducted a market survey to compare the rates of ports across the east coast to develop the proposed rates.
McKinsey said the town wants to increase cruise ship traffic but would prefer the smaller vessels.
“We are going to make a few dollars on each of these cruise stops and the really big ships we really don’t want to attract that,” McKinsey said. “So make that more expensive so there is a cost consideration for them as well.”
McKinsey said the town wants people to have a good time when they come to port, but at the same time not overwhelming the infrastructure.
“We’re trying to keep it so everybody is taken care of and there’s no negative consequences of it,” he said.
A public hearing will be held to discuss the proposed hikes April 13 at Town Hall.
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