BATH — A $17,000 Maine State Planning Office grant, added to matching funds from the city of Bath, will pay for improvements to the pier at Waterfront Park that will allow cruise ships up to 300 feet long to dock at the pier.

The 225-foot-long Independence, a cruise ship operated by American Cruise Lines, already docks in Bath. The Independence made approximately two dozen visits up the Kennebec to Bath last year, Andrew Deci, Bath’s director of planning and development, said Friday.

But the structural strength of the dock does not allow larger vessels to safely tie up, meaning cruise ships to the area must dock outside town and visitors must be bused to the city.

“Casual conversations with consultants and technical advisers have indicated that our current dolphin system, which secures the floats, is not secured deeply enough into the ledge under the river bottom to prevent the horizontal movement that occurs with larger vessels,” Deci wrote in an email Thursday. “Potential solutions could be the reinforcement of the existing dolphin system or the establishment of deeper dolphins in addition to the existing system.”

Deci said planners and consultants hope to finalize a conceptual plan for improvements by the end of February.

“This is an exciting award and something that will be beneficial to the city, region and state,” he wrote. “Of particular note is how this project fits into the state’s ‘Strategic Passenger Transportation Plan,’ which envisions bringing tourists to Maine for vehiclefree vacations. Bath is one of a very few locations along the coast where rail service and boat service are in the immediate vicinity, enabling tourists and locals to connect rail, bike, cars and buses with boats.”

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