MOST cruise ships of the future will be too large to get to Hamilton and St. George's ? and Government is working on a plan to accommodate them.

With cruise lines having reportedly told Government that Bermuda is served by the oldest and smallest vessels in their fleet and that some of these will be sold off by 2008, preparing for the new ships is a matter of urgency.

Transport and Tourism Minister Dr. Ewart Brown said in May this year that a "master plan" to develop the island's channels and waterfronts to deal with the bigger ships was being devised.

Asked this week for an update, he said: "The master plan has not been completed yet. We have recruited a firm to update a report they did for us in 1999 and they are in the process of doing that.

"We are still trying to attract niche cruise ships like , but it is true that the majority of cruise ships in future will be Panamax or Panamax-plus."

The is operated by Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, a line that operates a fleet of six relatively small cruise ships with the accent on luxury. The 33,000-tonne accommodates 490 passengers.

The Panamax ships to which Dr. Brown referred are much bigger. Typically, they are around 950 feet long and more than 100 feet wide and they accommodate between 2,200 and 2,600 people ? much larger than ships currently coming to Hamilton and St. George's.

Panamax is the name given to these ships, because they are of the maximum size able to negotiate the Panama Canal. However, they are too large to pass through either the Two Rock Passage in Hamilton Harbour or the Town Cut in St. George's, or to dock next to Front Street.

Dockyard has no such problems and has accommodated huge ships regularly in the past. And the West End Development Corporation (Wedco) has plans to create space for two megaships to dock alongside each other.

But failure to adapt to the new generation of larger ships could cost Bermuda a portion of its cruise ship business and businesses, especially in Hamilton and St. George's, would suffer as a result.

While air arrivals have dipped noticeably in recent years, the number of cruise ship visitors has risen. Second-quarter figures for this year showed cruise arrivals were up by one per cent, with cruise expenditure up by $2.6 million to $19.6 million.

Cruise ship visitors accounted for 46 per cent of visitors to the island during that second quarter.

While the Government is working on its plans, former Premier Sir John Swan this week put forward his own proposals for Hamilton waterfront in the form of a glossy booklet produced in conjunction with architectural firm Linberg & Simmons.

Entitled , it spells out a vision not only for the Front Street area, but also for other parts of Hamilton.

It proposes the removal of the docks from Hamilton to an out-of-town location and features a harbour-side promenade stretching from Albuoy's Point to a new King Street park.

Under the plan, a casino-restaurant and an events/conference facility would fill much of the space vacated by the docks and there would also be a waterfront market, gardens and cafes.

The plan includes a new cruise ship pier jutting out diagonally into the harbour, which would avoid the view-smothering effect of the large ships docking parallel with Front Street.

Such a dock could also accommodate two Panamax cruise ships, one either side of the dock.

Dr. Brown said of the booklet: "I thought it contained some very interesting ideas." And he said his knowledge of the technical aspects of the proposed new cruise ship dock was too limited to say whether he considered it feasible.

Dr. Brown recently undertook a fact-finding mission with a delegation including Sir John, looking at the Mediterranean waterfronts of Genoa, Villefranche, Nice and Monte Carlo. When he returned he put a price tag of at least $600 million on a Hamilton waterfront revamp.

He clarified: "That is a very, very rough estimate. A detailed estimate will not be possible until we finish the plan."

Sir John has proposed that the docks should be sited at the North Shore site of Ducking Stool Park, next to Black Watch Pass. His plan suggests there would be 14 acres of dock storage space at the site, double that of the current docks. Dr. Brown also supports relocation of the docks.

The Swan plan also involves realigning Front Street a few feet closer to the water. This would allow a more spacious walking area, shaded by newly planted trees, in front of the Front Street shops.

The introduction to the booklet, written by Sir John, states that "from Easter lillies to reinsurance" the island has derived strength from its capacity to recognise changing circumstances and to capitalise on them.

He continues: "If we are to continue, what has indeed been the Bermuda miracle, we must embrace change with vision and make change our friend. Let us not be encumbered by the shackles of ideology, bureaucracy and prejudice.

"There can be few greater manifestations of our willingness to improve ourselves than the rejuvenation of the Hamilton waterfront. The endeavour would be a dynamic symbol of our shared ideals of the future."