Bringing larger cruise ships into St. George's will not only resurrect the town but provide more funds for the Corporation of St. George.

Town Mayor Kenny Bascome held a town-hall meeting Wednesday night where the topic of dredging, widening and/or straightening Town Cut was discussed.

The Corporation is calling for studies to be done to determine if the cut can in fact be altered.

The studies would look at the impact of having a ship in St. George's. They would also examine such issues as transportation, navigation and financing, the environmental impact and cost and the timeline involved.

Yesterday, Mr. Bascome said: "The cruise ships represent an attraction in itself other than the visitors. When you have a cruise ship in port, it causes the Bermudians to come out and see and the visitors to come out and see.

"I believe that the cruise ship is a way for the Corporation of St. George to be seen as a viable entity."

Asked what he thought about the turnout of the meeting, Mr. Bascome said: "I was quite pleased because in the preparation I said to my guys 'you're not going to receive many questions'.

"That's why I was very receptive in allowing people to stand before the meeting and say their piece. That's why I was quite flexible in allowing people to come and express their opinions because I believe it's one way to move forward."

Alderman Garth Rothwell told those at Wednesday's meeting that the measurements of Town Cut it has a width of 250 feet and depth of 31 feet makes larger ships coming into port a problem.

He said the category of ship St. George's is looking at is the Panamax. He pointed out that some ships have a width of 100-plus feet and a depth of 26 feet anything that size or larger could be problematic on low-tide days, Mr. Rothwell said.

Mr. Bascome said he is looking for support from younger residents in St. George's.

"Well, I have talked with the young people face to face in an attempt to get involved. A number of the young men continually ask me to help them find employment. When they show me they are interested in the community, I will assist them more than I do.

"I believe I have the support of the community and I believe we go from strength to strength."

Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) chairman Stuart Hayward said his group supports the Corporation's plan.

"As we understand they're looking into studies and we support the studies. We met with the Corporation and we were entirely in support of them proposing the study."

Mr. Bascome said the Corporation has also met with Government's Sustainable Development Unit, the Bermuda National Trust and the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.