The on-again, off-again, on-again project to build a fourth cruise ship dock in Cozumel has been paused by the Environment Ministry (Semarnat) which is reconsidering the approval it granted just two months ago.
Advocates for Cozumel’s coral reefs were stunned in April when Semarnat greenlit the project to expand a cruise ship port that would allegedly damage the Villa Blanca Reef, reversing a 2022 decision to cancel the construction.
On Friday, Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena announced that Semarnat would carry out a new environmental impact study with a particular focus on the reef, and the rights of the local population to a healthy environment.
The Villa Blanca Reef is a critical habitat for marine life and a popular site for divers and snorkelers, according to Yucatán Magazine. Construction of the dock over the reef will smother coral formations, displace marine species and degrade water quality, scientists say.
Opponents of the project insist the planned pier would disrupt the island’s delicate ecological balance, undoing 20 years of restoration work.
Emergency responders say the pier project — which would occupy 59,000 square meters of federal maritime zone — would obstruct Coast Guard routes, delaying rescue missions in southern waters.
Among the economic repercussions, long-standing dive operators and scuba training centers would lose access to the reef, effectively shutting down their operations. Snorkeling guides who provide tours in Villa Blanca would also face an uncertain future.
Activists also point out that the location chosen for the new dock lies on the only readily accessible beach for locals.
Residents are also largely against the construction project, according to tourism website Reportur. Many cozmuleños, as residents are known, not only oppose the environmental damage, but also prefer overnight visitors who spend more money than cruise passengers.
“Cruises … offer far fewer benefits per visitor than overnight visitors,” Cozumel resident Rodrigo Huesca Alcántara told Reportur. A visitor who stays five days, eats at local restaurants and pays for tours provides a much larger profit than cruise passengers who visit for just a few hours, he said.
Toni Cháves, president of the Riviera Maya Hotel Association, also criticized the environmental damage the project would cause.
“We don’t live off of tourism,” he said. “We live off of the natural beauty that attracts tourism.”
Bárcena’s announcement came just 10 days after Muelles del Caribe said it was beginning construction on Cozumel’s fourth pier that would be capable of accommodating the world’s largest cruise ships.
The latest pause was prompted by an injunction filed against Semarnat’s decision on June 13, after which Semarnat acknowledged that some permits and concessions related to the required environmental impact study have yet to be granted.
Opponents insist their opposition goes beyond the environmental destruction the project would cause. They say the financial benefits of the cruise industry do not trickle down to local residents.
Quintana Roo TV station Canal 12 reported that although the cruise industry generates US $740 million per year, 40% of local residents live below the poverty line.
Opposition to the construction of a fourth pier dates back to 2021. Semarnat approved the 511 million-peso project (US $24 million) in December 2021, but it was halted by a federal judge in February 2022.
With reports from El Financiero, Reportur and Yucatán Magazine
