Levels of soot and sulphur dioxide from a cruise ship's stack which have troubled people at Dockyard should be vastly reduced for the rest of the season, the Environment Minister said yesterday.

Smoke from the Meridian has enveloped boats as well as diners at a nearby restaurant and tests have shown levels of sulphur dioxide as much as three times over the legal limit.

However, following talks between the local agents, Meyer Agencies, the ship's owners, Celebrity Cruises, and the Government, new measures will be introduced to help reduce soot and sulphur.

The Environment Minister, the Hon. Gerald D.E. Simons, said the ship would use new fuel, with a much reduced sulphur content, while in port.

He also said the ship's boilers would be restarted out at sea to avoid smoke being flushed out of the stack.

"Discussions with Meyer and Celebrity have resulted in the ship adopting new procedures which should go a long way towards reducing soot and ameliorating this problem,'' said Mr. Simons.

The Meridian is a steam ship using large boilers to produce steam for its propulsion and electricity. Fuel normally used is relatively unrefined with a high sulphur content.

Mr. Simons said Celebrity had now secured a supply of fuel with almost half the level of sulphur which would be used while in port.

Normally, the ship shuts down some of its boilers while in port and restarts them before sailing causing a blow-out of soot and sulphur dioxide.

"The captain and chief engineer have been instructed to delay the start-up of additional boilers until after the ship has left port,'' added Mr. Simons.

"I hope that in this way we will not have a recurrence of the smoke and soot problems that have been experienced in the past in the Dockyard area.''