Coronavirus precautions will delay Alaska’s cruise season. That’s following word that Canada has closed its ports to large cruise ships through July 1. These restrictions are expected to be a blow to Alaska’s tourism sector.
Canada’s restriction means ships carrying 500 or more people cannot enter its ports. Legal experts say the ban will directly affect Alaska itineraries. That’s because century-old U.S. maritime laws prohibit international ships from carrying U.S. citizens between American ports.
“A foreign-flag vessel must stop in a foreign country,” said Juneau attorney Joe Geldhof. He says international cruise ships fly flags of countries like The Bahamas or Panama, mostly for tax reasons. That means they must add an international stop between Alaska and the Lower 48, which is why Alaska cruises often originate in British Columbia.
“If Vancouver and Victoria are closed, foreign flag cruise ships are going to have an enormous problem with participating in the Alaska trade,” he said.
That affects at least 30 cruise ships and hundreds of port calls statewide. Kirby Day manages port operations in Juneau for Carnival Corporation’s subsidiaries Holland America and Princess.
“Obviously, anyone would analyze it and look and figure that that will affect some early season cruising in Southeast Alaska,” he said.
This comes as the industry’s main trade group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) announced that major cruise lines are suspending operations for the next 30 days.
“Things are moving so fast that they’re looking at a variety of opportunities or options at this point. And I don’t think it’s—it’s difficult to speculate now,” said Day.
Cruise visitors were projected to pump a lot of money into Alaska’s economy: experts say a quarter billion dollars in wages.
“This is going to be a tremendous impact to all of us across Southeast Alaska,” said Meilani Schijvens of Rain Coast Data in Juneau pulled the numbers.
“It’s those dollars, but it’s also the multiplier effect of those dollars and those dollars not going into city coffers and supporting municipalities in terms of providing sales tax revenue to our communities,” she said.
She says cruise ships account for 90 percent of tourism in Southeast Alaska. June, July, and August are peak months.
As schools and public buildings close over efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus, panic buying has been reported across the nation. Alaska communities have also seen groceries and household items fly off the shelves as public health experts advise people to stock at least two weeks of provisions.
But shipping executives say the shelves should be restocked soon. Alaska’s supply chain isn’t expected to be affected by coronavirus. Cory Baggen is vice president of Samson Tug & Barge in Sitka.
“We are telling people it is business-as-usual—and to wash their hands,” she said
The state’s largest freight company—Alaska Marine Lines—sent an email Friday to reassure its customers that barge traffic continues to run as normal.
