Residents of Bath’s South End neighborhood are pushing for the city to cut the number of cruise ships docking in town, arguing it contradicts promises to tackle climate change.

“We’re going to commit to reducing carbon emissions by 2050 by 80%, and at the same time, we are encouraging the influx of a great pollution maker in these cruise ships,” said Bath resident Robert McChesney.

In October, McChesney led a petition drive, gathering 75 signatures from South End residents.

American Cruise Lines’ director of port development and construction, Eric Dussault, said during a Wednesday Bath City Council meeting that 28 ships visited Bath in 2022, 34 in 2023 and 46 in 2024. American Cruise Lines anticipates the number of visits will drop to about 40 in 2025. American Cruise Lines has been coming to Bath since 2010.

Chris Timm, executive director of Maine Maritime Museum, emphasized that there are no plans to bring larger vessels to Deering Pier or any other plans to welcome other cruise lines. Maine Maritime Museum officials said in a statement that the museum expects fewer vessels in 2025.

McChesney and his wife wrote a letter to Bath City Council outlining their concerns about the increase in cruise ships, pollution, “overtourism” and noise, which they and other Bath residents reiterated during Wednesday’s meeting.

Currently, the mooring pilings on the pier that the Maine Maritime Museum leases to American Cruise Lines are undergoing maintenance — this project is exclusively focused on safety and the upkeep of the pier. A later phase could involve working with the museum and American Cruise Lines engineers to explore the potential of adding access to shore power.

Maine Maritime Museum said it proactively prohibited larger vessels from stopping in Bath in 2023, setting the maximum length for a vessel at 250 feet. The museum has worked with American Cruise Lines to require environmental stewardship criteria for all new ships on the Deering Pier, and the cruise line is in the process of adopting smaller vessels to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 3 Emission Standards, the museum said.

The museum is also considering the potential of adding shore power, which would allow cruise ships to plug in and shut down all onboard carbon-emitting equipment while docked.

Timm said that by 2026, around 60% of American Cruise Lines ships visiting Bath will meet or exceed the EPA Tier 3 standards, and 100% by 2027.

“Shore-side electrification is a strategic priority at the museum, and this work directly aligns to the Resilient Bath plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050,” Timms said.

Another Bath resident, Bernie Bomba, wrote a letter to Timm and Bath municipal officials expressing concerns over the idling cruise ships docked at the museum’s pier. The letter detailed concerns about ships’ emissions posing serious health threats to citizens in the area, including children participating in summer programs at the museum.

Bomba called on the museum and city officials to immediately stop the cruise ships from docking and attempt to limit the ships idling. If the museum or the city continued with the idling cruise ships, he urged residents in Bath and the surrounding area to form a clean-air organization and call for Maine Maritime Museum membership to boycott.

American Cruise Lines has been part of Bath’s tourism tradition and is one of the highlights of the summer tourism season, said Main Street Bath Director Amanda McDaniel. Other tourists drive in through Route 1 to enjoy the downtown shopping area and visit the historical places of the City of Ships.

The buses for the cruise ship tourists are a consolidated way for them to get from the ship to the downtown area. McDaniel described the cruise lines as a financial windfall for the city, with the tourism dollars helping businesses get through the winter.