cruise ship Meridian on boats in the Dockyard area.

The owner of a pleasure boat that was moored at the Dockyard Marina was particularly upset to hear that his boat was covered with the black powder.

"I am worried about the sulphuric acid in the soot which does damage to the boat by burning into the aluminium and burning the ropes,'' he said.

The problem has been an ongoing one for boat owners in the area.

But yesterday there were few complaints when The Royal Gazette visited Dockyard.

And crew members of the Meridian were washing down the boats to remove the soot.

Dockyard Marina manager Mark Osinga said: "Today was no a major problem.'' But he admitted that it had been bad in the past.

"It is not something we appreciate,'' Mr. Osinga said, "but having the crew members from the boat help does alleviate the problem.

"I don't see that there is a lot we can do.'' When contacted yesterday West End Development Corporation general manager George Smith said: "The agents of the boat and Government are working with us to fix the problem.''