Pilots Association Challenges Reservation Freeze Following Cruise Ship Ruling.
Jun 22, 2026
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Edward Jones Financial Advisor: Elise N. Frank.
BAR HARBOR—The Penobscot Bay and River Pilots Association has responded to the Town Council’s statement about the recent United States District Court finding that the town’s cruise ship ordinance was unlawful during all months except July and August.
In a statement, the Penobscot Bay and River Pilots Association announced, June 21, that it will “pilot” in any cruise ships that wish to call on Bar Harbor in all other months though the town itself is not currently granting cruise ship reservations.
“To be clear: the Pilots’ statutory authority to bring vessels into the federal anchorages does not depend on the Town’s reservation system. If cruise lines wish to call at Bar Harbor during months in which the ordinance has been struck down, the Pilots will guide those vessels safely into anchorage regardless of whether the Town has processed a reservation. The Town’s refusal to act on reservation requests cannot override the right to access federal anchorage grounds, supersede State pilotage authority to facilitate maritime commerce, or nullify the Court’s ruling,” the Pilots wrote in the statement.
Town Manager James Smith said, June 22, “The Town fully recognizes that all vessels may anchor in federally designated anchorage grounds in accordance with applicable federal law, and nothing in Chapter 52 or Chapter 125-77(H) regulates anchorage or navigation upon the water. The Town will continue fulfilling its responsibilities to coordinate harbor activities and support the safe and orderly use of the harbor.”
The town’s cruise ship passenger disembarkation limit of 1,000 was approved by voters in 2022 as part of that citizens’ petition and referendum. The ordinance had passed 1,780 to 1,273, a difference of 507 votes.
In December 2022 Association to Preserve and Protect Local Livelihoods (APPLL), the Penobscot Bay and River Pilots Association, and some other local businesses involved with cruise ship tendering had sued the town over its cruise ship disembarkation limits, arguing that the limits were unconstitutional.
Since then, for four years, there have been appeals and orders and remands, oral arguments, and briefs.
Smith said, that those responsibilities to coordinate harbor activities are distinct from the Town’s regulation of private property for the land-based activity of passenger disembarkation.
“The PortCall system has always operated as a voluntary system. During this period of legislative review, the Town has elected not to utilize it for advance reservation confirmations. That administrative decision neither affects a vessel’s ability to anchor in federally designated anchorage grounds nor the Town’s continuing responsibility to coordinate harbor activities. It also does not alter the permitting requirements that remain in effect,” Smith explained.
“Property owners wishing to receive and disembark cruise ship passengers must continue to comply with the permitting requirements established under Chapter 52 and Chapter 125-77(H), including obtaining a valid Cruise Ship Disembarkation Facility permit and a corresponding daily disembarkation permit,” he continued. “During the months of July and August, the Court upheld the Town’s 1,000 passenger daily disembarkation limit. Outside those months, while there is presently no enforceable daily passenger limit, the permitting requirements remain unchanged, and the Town expects all property owners conducting passenger disembarkation activities to comply fully with those requirements.”
The Pilots Association’s statement comes after U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker’s latest decision, a 32-page order released May 15. In it, Judge Walker declared that the Bar Harbor cruise ship ordinance is unconstitutional in all months other than July and August. Since then the town also released a statement.
“On May 15, 2026, the United States District Court for the District of Maine found the 2022 Bar Harbor Cruise Ordinance unconstitutional as applied to all but two months of the year. The Court’s decision to strike down the Ordinance for the majority of the cruise season reflects core principles the Pilots have advanced throughout this litigation. Whether the decision goes far enough is a question for another day; what matters now is that the Town comply with the ruling as issued rather than defy it. Unfortunately, it appears the Town and Defendant-Intervenor Charles Sidman have chosen defiance,” the Penobscot Bay and River Pilots Association said in the beginning of its statement.
In a response, June 22, Sidman and his attorney Robert Papazian wrote, “The Pilots’ press release is nothing more than a continued pressure campaign on Bar Harbor officials to abandon the will of the voters as they beat their chest and threaten to sue the Town for money damages. It is clear that the Pilots’ adversary is the Bar Harbor citizenry. The citizens have made their wishes clear, multiple times, to no longer be economic vassals of this dirty and intrusive industry. We will no longer be a cash cow for the cruise industry or those that cater to them. Seeking appeal of the Federal District Court’s latest decision can hardly be described as an act of ‘defiance.’ While Judge Walker’s decision was disappointing, it is hardly the end of the road. One or more steps lie ahead in this matter, and the Town has wisely in our opinion decided to await final resolution before altering the beneficial status that the Ordinance has delivered for the town as a whole. Defiance to the rule of law belongs to the Pilots, who claim authority to ignore the Town’s reservation system and the will of the voters.”
State rules require a harbor pilot on board as cruise ships, the CAT ferry, and any other large vessel departs and arrives in Bar Harbor.
According to its website, the Pilots “are responsible for guiding any vessel required to take a pilot upon the waters of Penobscot and Frenchman Bay as well as Penobscot River.”
After motoring out on local boats, the pilots board vessels offshore. Their job is to navigate those ships to port. And then, they guide them out again.
To move between boats safely, that pilot has to depend on the skills of local captains and their knowledge of the sea, the wind, and the boats. It’s a system of connected aspects: man, water, wind, boats.
Though the group still pilots Bay Ferries, despite that company’s recent efforts to not require the service, the drop of cruise ships has led to a drop of revenue for the pilots, the captains who bring them out on the water, and the hands who help.
“On May 20, the Town Council announced it will withhold all action on cruise ship reservation requests, including for months the court has declared the ordinance unconstitutional. Because cruise visitation in Bar Harbor is coordinated through the Harbormaster’s reservation system, a blanket freeze is functionally equivalent to continued enforcement of the unlawful ordinance—and a de facto restriction on access to the federal anchorages,” the association’s statement continues.
The pilots’ small business has been hit by maritime commerce changes after the COVID-19 pandemic as well. Eastport had a steady volume of cargo ships bringing in approximately 300,000 tons annually. After the pandemic that number shrunk (in 2022) to 8,000 tons.
The association of pilots believes that the Town Council’s current decision to not accept advance reservations is unfair.
“Nothing authorizes the Town to weaponize the reservation system in this manner. The system was established over twenty years ago solely to ‘coordinate’ the use of federal anchorages by cruise vessels,” the association continues. “Until the Cruise Ordinance, it functioned transparently by consent of all parties, with the harbormaster issuing reservations consistent with mutually agreed passenger counts. The Town has no legal authority to restrict access to the federal anchorages—reservation system or not. Anchorage designation and use is a federal function; safe vessel access and positioning is determined by State Pilots in consideration of weather and vessel characteristics, in collaboration with the master of the vessel.”
As further argument, the pilots cited a May 2025 statement from the Harbormaster.
The association wrote, “The Town itself has acknowledged as much. As recently as May 2025, the harbormaster wrote: ‘The Town of Bar Harbor fully recognizes and supports the right of all vessels to anchor in the harbor in accordance with federal law, and any vessel visiting the port will be accommodated with anchorage regardless of its intended purpose, subject to coordination with the harbormaster.’ The Town cannot simultaneously acknowledge that right and refuse to process the reservations that enable an orderly visit. The practical effect is to continue imposing the Ordinance’s limitations in months for which it has been declared unlawful—a costly, legally unsustainable approach that increases the Town’s legal exposure and harms all affected parties.”
Beyond its criticism of the council, the association took aim at a recent court filing by Sidman.
“Adding to the damage, Mr. Sidman filed a motion on June 12 to alter or amend the District Court’s decision—essentially asking the Court to revisit the same Pike balancing analysis it just completed on remand from the First Circuit. Such relief is rarely granted and requires far more than dissatisfaction with the result. If entertained, the motion will considerably delay resolution of the litigation, prolong the harms the ordinance continues to inflict, and increase the Town’s exposure to damages for losses caused by an ordinance that has now been declared unlawful for the majority of the year. The Pilots will oppose it,” the association wrote.
“The Ordinance has done immense, avoidable damage to individuals and businesses in this community. It is in everyone’s interests to halt the bleeding. The Pilots remain confident that members of this community, acting with goodwill and sensitivity to the Constitution, can devise lawful responses to tourism issues. The Pilots welcome data-backed solutions, but the process must begin with compliance with the Court’s decision—not defiance, evasion, or efforts to relitigate the Court’s conclusions,” the Pilots wrote.
All photos: Bar Harbor Story.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
The other ships with 2026 reservations were booked prior to March 2022 and are “grandfathered” under prior rules.
- Norwegian Breakaway (Lower Berth Capacity 3,963) visiting August 26, September 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, and October 7 and 14
- Norwegian Jewel (Lower Berth Capacity 3,000) visiting September 8, 22, and 29, and October 13
Pilots Work On Maine’s Seas and Rivers: Dangerous and Necessary
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July 21, 2024
Bar Harbor Council Backs Push to Drop Pilot Requirement on CAT Ferry
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November 21, 2025
Penobscot Bay River Pilots Association
Its Facebook page.
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