CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Corpus Christi Port Commission on Tuesday received the results of an independent expert on whether Corpus Christi has what it takes to become a cruise ship port.
The answer was a resounding no.
"They said that Corpus Christi was not the right place today to have a port terminal," Port Chairman Charlie Zahn said.
The study says there are clear and convincing reasons that the cruise ship industry would not want to come.
According to Zahn, the main reason for not coming is a lack of adequate population. Places such as Galveston, Miami, and New Orleans have millions of people living within a 350-mile radius.
The study pointed out two other main reasons.
"You have to have air transportation to bring people into wherever this new port is. Ours doesn't meet the standards, for example, of bringing people to fill up a 4000 person ship, and last but certainly not least, we don't have the accommodations. If you were to build in Port Aransas or Harbor Island, we don't have the transportation to get them there," Zahn said.
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