Belfast, Maine, has unanimously voted to ban cruise ships with over 50 guests from docking in the town.

According to local reports, the vote follows a recommendation from Harbor Master Katherine Given, who raised concerns about safety and navigation related to visits from larger ships.

In 2024, Belfast hosted eight arrivals from ships carrying over 50 passengers, including five from the 109-guest American Eagle.

Given explained that these visits brought problems to the town, such as the unexpected arrival of charter buses to transport the ship’s passengers to other locations.

“Some of these problems had a definite negative impact on other visiting boaters using the docks, launch ramp use, and pedestrian and traffic safety around the Belfast City Landing,” she was quoted as saying earlier this year.

According to the harbor master, a committee determined that, aside from limiting the size of the vessels, there was no way to resolve the issues that arise.

“The channel can’t move, we have limited dock space, there’s no bus parking, so as much as we thought about trying to work things out, it just can’t happen,” Given told MainePublic.org.

An official from the local chamber of commerce stated that, due in part to the tour buses, cruise passengers don’t have the same economic impact they once had.

Belfast anticipates recouping a portion of the $20,000 revenue from lost dock fees through alternative uses, he continued.

Before approving the ban, the town expected 14 visits from cruise ships in 2025, Bangor Daily News reported.

Most were set to be made by American Cruise Lines’ American Eagle, which is spending the summer season offering coastal cruises in New England.

Belfast became the second town in Maine to limit the number of guests arriving by cruise ships after Bar Harbor capped visits to just 1,000 per day.