The prospect of a deep water berth in Douglas for cruise ships has been described as a 'dead duck'.

The Standing Committee of Tynwald on Economic Initiatives met earlier today (Wednesday) to hear evidence about such a scheme.

They took evidence from Tourism Minister Martyn Quayle, Acting Chief Executive of the DTL Jon Callister, Director of Tourism Rod Nipper and Economic Adviser to the Treasury, Steve Carse.

Minister Quayle told the committee that whilst no exact cost for such a facility had been established, it would likely be in the tens of millions of pounds with at least ?150,000 per year needed in maintenance.

He said whilst a few years ago such a facility may have been practical, with changes to customs and excise agreements it was now highly unlikely the revenue obtained from cruise passengers would make such a scheme economically viable, even if the cruise market was substantially increased.

However, on questioning by committee chairman Steve Rodan, Mr Carse admitted no specific research had been commissioned or carried out on the amount cruise ship passengers spend on the Island.

He added current estimates which showed just ?5 to ?6 benefit to the exchequer were based on average spends of standard 'day visitors' to the Island.

Mr Rodan suggested if more accurate research showed this spend to be significantly higher, it could make a difference to the economic case for such a facility and such work would be beneficial when examining expensive capital projects.