More than 100 people packed a public meeting last night to hear about the potential impact of mega-size cruise ships coming to Bermuda.

A number of organisations are now involved in an Island-wide consultation process which aims to determine whether Dockyard, Hamilton and St. George's can handle the larger Panamax and post-Panamax cruise ships being built and operated by cruise operators.

And as part of its involvement the Bermuda National Trust has brought two experts to the Island during the past six days to carry out research and gather information.

Before leaving the Island today Dr. Andrew Price from England's Warwick University and Michael Donlan of Massachusetts-based Industrial Economics gave a presentation, in Hamilton's Cathedral Hall, of their initial thoughts on the prospect of Bermuda accommodating cruise ships as long as 975 feet and weighing 90,000 tons.

Outlining what is at stake biological sciences lecturer Dr. Price began with the extensive coral reefs that encircle the Island.

"The coral reefs are nature's own solar-powered food factory. They provide physical protection. They are self-repairing breakwaters and a natural defence," he said.

In other parts of the world where reefs and mango swamps have been reduced in size by man there have been resulting catastrophes, such as the South-Asian tsunami of 2004 that reeked more damage because the natural defences had been drastically reduced through decades of man-management.

He said the Maldives had paid the price for cutting back of its reef system which resulted in a rare storm wave 'taking out' a third of the Island and consequently having to spend millions of dollars building a breakwater to prevent a repeat ? something that would not have been necessary if the reef had been left untouched.

Dr. Prince said a huge portion of the Caribbean's reefs have been lost in the past two decades through causes including climate and fishing.

A damaged coral reef is more susceptible to further deterioration from cruise ships, he said.

Considerations for Bermuda also include the various international pacts and environmental treaties it is signed up and the need to keep some areas of the reef undisturbed so they remain robust and resilient should another area that is tampered with become badly damaged.

On the question of whether the Town Cut into St. George's Harbour should be enlarged to secure safe navigation of larger ships, he said the issues there ranged from the possible vulnerability of the town to a hurricane-induced wave surge to shifting patterns of sediment settlement and erosion.

At the same time Bermuda must consider some of the positive trade-offs from larger ships.

The bigger ships have their own advanced sewage facilities which do not require discharge on the Island and don't need to take on drinking water during visits. They also take care of their own trash.

Against this there is the added risk of much greater damage being caused should a large ship have an accident, the effect of anti-foul paint scraping on coral beds and sea grasses, and sedimentation from higher numbers of ferries and tender boats carrying visitors.

Environment and economic consultant Mr. Donlan said Bermuda also had to weigh up the trade off between total numbers of cruise visitors and how many can be accommodated without detracting from the quality of life on the Island.

As an example he said the Aquarium at Flatts can take a maximum of 600 visitors a day without becoming overcrowded.

Would it be desirable to try to squeeze more people into such attractions just so that bigger cruise ships can come to Bermuda, he asked.

Also attending the meeting was Tourism department transportation consultant Larry Jacobs who said the trend within the cruise ship market was for the building of larger ships.

"Bermuda is well known for refusing the large ships. The ships we get are the oldest, smallest and least environmentally-friendly," he said.

Within coming years the small ships would be sold off and Bermuda would have to decide how it is going to deal with Panamax-size ships, he said.

One possibility is to have a double pier at Dockyard for two big ships and then transport the visitors around to the rest of the Island by buses and ferries.

It might also be feasible to have one-day cruise ships moor off Tobacco Bay in the East End and allow passengers to explore the Island from there.

He said the cruise ship market added between $50 million and $70 million to the Island's economy.

Dr. Price and Mr. Donlan have met with a number of groups and individuals during their visit and will spend the next few weeks preparing a report that will be part of the National Trust's input to the Government's wide-ranging consultation process.

National Trust executive director Stephen Conway said anyone who would like to add further feedback can do so by e-mailing the Trust at palmettobnt.bm or reach its two consultants directly by e-mailing andrew.pricewarwick.ac.uk or Mr. Donlan at mcdindecon.com.