More Red Flags for BC cruise industry as Alaska Congressman continues to push for changes to American Maritime policy

Alaska Congressman
Don Young

Time it seems does not heal all wounds or slights, with Alaskan Congressman Don Young once again pushing forward his plan to see the US government change its policies when it comes to cruise ship travel from the continental US states south of British Columbia to Alaska.

The Congressman who was quite outspoken on the topic in the Spring has raised a new initiative this week, providing some talking points for the Vancouver Sun, following up with some notes for his constituents in Alaska.

The key passage of his themes a belief by the Congressman that Canada in effect will continue to have a veto over the US cruise industry without changes

COVID-19 exposed critical vulnerabilities in Alaska’s economy, which required emergency action to save a portion of the 2021 summer cruise season. The return of cruise ships to southeast Alaska brought much-needed economic activity to the region. But it also served as a reminder that, in the future, we cannot allow such a vital portion of our economy to be held hostage by a foreign country, in this case, Canada. 

Make no mistake about it, without the passage of the Alaskan Tourism Restoration Act, Canada’s port closures would have doomed the 2021 cruise season despite our ability to mitigate COVID-19 on large cruise vessels. 

 To add insult to injury, Canada’s power to cancel Alaska’s 2021 cruise season was only possible because of a U.S. law known as the Passenger Vessels Services Act (PVSA). In short, the PVSA, enacted in 1886, does not allow foreign-flagged passenger vessels to make consecutive U.S. port stops without stopping at a foreign port in between. 

Upon the expiration of the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act, Canada will once again have de facto veto authority over Alaska’s cruise industry. As a result, we must reform the PVSA to protect the sovereignty of our tourism economy.

Towards his plans, the Alaska Congressman introduced new potential legislation in late July called the Tribal Tourism Sovereignty Act, which could have a significant impact on the Canadian Cruise industry in 2022 and beyond. 

"My proposal is simple yet powerful: Large foreign-flagged passenger vessels that call on ports or places in the United States owned by Tribes or Alaska Native Corporations would be compliant with the PVSA’s foreign-stop requirement. 

In Alaska, this would mean that voyages would no longer have to stop in or originate in Canada. Cruises could start and end in Alaska, maximizing their time in our state and opening new economic development opportunity for Alaskans. 

My bill also benefits tribal communities in the lower 48 states by creating port development opportunities for tribes in Washington State, Oregon, the Great Lakes, and the Northeast."

The full contribution to the Vancouver Sun can be reviewed here.

The Premier spoke to the topic on Tuesday through radio staton CKNW, with Mr. Horgan answering questions and crafting his responses to the issue through the Jas Johal program. 

For the most part the Premier expressed his concern over the provocative commentary coming from Alaska, though noting he wasn't aware of much detail to the Congressman's proposal, and noted how some Canadian ports are considered marquee locations and how he was confident that the industry would vote with its feet and include ports in British Columbia in cruise seasons to come.

He also observed as to how the ports were closed by the Federal government at the request of the province, and the situation is one that is more for Ottawa to resolve wth the Americans.  

The Premier noted of the current levels of COVID in the US and how the industry will be more interested in those concerns than the workings of the Congressman's initiative; Mr. Horgan also suggested that he would wait for further comment from other Alaska representatives such as Senator Murkowski who he has spoken with in the past.

You can tune into that discussion from the CKNW program here.

No Cruise passengers passed through the Prince Rupert Cruise
Terminal in 2021 as ports remained closed in Canadian waters.
A new bill proposed by an Alaska Congressman could make for more
trouble for the Canadian industry in 2022.

The US made temporary changes to their existing laws earlier this year to allow for the start of the lucrative Alaska cruise season; as a result vessels that may have made port calls in Prince Rupert among other ports were allowed to transit through without need of what are known as technical stops.

The Canadian cruise industry was shut down for 2021 by the Federal government back in February, the ban on vessels is set to be lifted later this fall.

You can review more notes on the American moves and other themes related to the cruise industry from our archive page here.