Kingston’s old asylum coal dock to be marketed as deep-water dock for cruise ships – Kingston | Globalnews.ca

It’s official: the city of Kingston will have a deep-water dock to welcome cruise ships to the city.

But instead of the previously proposed downtown locations, cruise ships will be parking right behind the old Rockwood Asylum, at the now-defunct facility’s old coal dock.

Those using the waterfront trail behind the asylum may have noticed a second Kingston sign, like the one downtown in Confederation Park, sitting unassembled in a fenced area.

This area is the asylum’s old dock, known as the coal dock. It was purchased by Doornekamp Constructions over a year ago from the federal government, and was meant to be used for the shipping portion of the company’s business.

Sandy Berg from Doornekamp Constructions says the company has teamed up with Tourism Kingston to market the coal dock as a viable option for Great Lakes cruises to come to the city next year. She says an official photoshoot for the marketing campaign will take place next month. Until then, efforts will be made to beautify the space, including installing the second Kingston sign.

Berg says the operation will have help from Kingston Trolley Tours to cart cruise passengers to the downtown core.

She also says that the coal dock is only a temporary stopgap for the city, which hopes to move the deep-water dock to a downtown location like the Marine Museum in the future.

Last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no cruise ships came to Kingston. Before that, any cruise ships wanting to stop in the city needed to dock far out in the water and provide a smaller vessel to access the city’s shore.

Berg says the coal dock will allow the city to finally accept passengers directly to shore and prove to Great Lakes cruise companies that Kingston is a viable stop on their routes.

Federal approvals have already been granted for the location.

Tourism Kingston has yet to provide any information on the endeavour.

1:15City of Kingston to examine second location for a deep water dock