Plans for the first phase of a new cruise ship terminal at Dockyard have been approved despite objections from parties including the National Trust and the Historic Wrecks Authority.

The Development Applications Board (DAB) attached monitoring conditions to the project in a bid to ensure the environment is not adversely affected. The $35 million new terminal will accommodate Panamax and Post-Panamax size megaships, bringing thousands of tourists to the Island.

The port enhancement is needed, according to proponents, because the smaller traditional cruise liners are being phased out to make room for the larger Panamax ships. These will not fit through Town Cut in St. George or Two Rock Passage near Hamilton, so the burden of the bigger cruise liners rests solely on Dockyard. Ultimately, the new project would allow two Panamax ships to dock simultaneously.

In making its decision to approve the first phase of the three-stage project, the D.A.B considered an objection lodged by former Premier Dame Jennifer Smith, chairman of the Historic Wrecks Authority, who said the new berth would involve dredging an area containing a wreck.

The 65 ft long and 19 ft wide iron vessel, according to Dame Jennifer, could be one of the original tugs used to build the Dockyard in the nineteenth century.

Government has commissioned a team of archaeologists to examine the wreck, which will arrive at the end of the cruise ship season next month.

A Government spokesman has previously commented: "While the Ministry awaits the result of this prudent approach, no work on the future cruise ship pier is being conducted anywhere in the vicinity of the wreck."

The National Trust expressed concern that environmental impact studies are being carried out "in a fragmented manner" at each of the three project phases instead of one overall study before it gets underway. It told the D.A.B it feared the planning application now approved "will enable work to begin on this pier before the impact of the development as a whole is established or fully understood."

It added: "Undertaking a full Environmental Impact Assessment for an entire project is standard practice which should be undertaken by a developer at the earliest stages of planning a large-scale project. This allows for all the likely significant effects of the development on the environment to be established and measures put in place to limit these impacts. Ultimately, doing so enables fully informed decisions to be made that benefit us all.

"We are afraid that even if major concerns are discovered at a later date they will not be able to be addressed because so much of the project will have already been completed."

The Trust also said it was concerned about a lack of information about the impacts and mitigation measures for dredging, land reclamation and the likely effects on the surrounding marine environment, including coral reefs. It fears that as a result of the new generation of Post-Panamax cruise ships the pier will accommodate, it may be felt necessary to widen and deepen Bermuda's shipping channels following its completion for safety reasons.

Further criticism came from the United Bermuda Party last night. Reacting to news of the planning approval, party leader Michael Dunkley said: "Unfortunately, the government in this instance allowed the project to proceed without a full environmental impact assessment of large cruise ships. Permission was given today for the construction of a project without any regard for the impact of the end use. It's similar to approving the construction of an airport without any consideration of its impact on traffic, noise and pollution to surrounding neighbourhoods."

In giving the green light to the first phase of the project, the D.A.B stressed that a separate application for a building permit must be made and approved — and that all requirements outlined in the environmental impact statement must be filed with Government agencies and nearby Dolphin Quest for approval. The required monitoring programs cover areas including water quality, sediment, noise, and vibration. In an advisory note, the D.A.B said that terms of reference for an environmental impact statement covering the second stage of the project must be submitted and vetted by agencies and stakeholders prior to work beginning on that phase.