The cruise-ship season in Canada is all but sunk as Ottawa extends its ban on large ships in Canadian waters until the end of October in an attempt to contain COVID-19.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau said Thursday passenger ships with overnight accommodations for more than 100 people 91裸聊视频� including both passengers and crew 91裸聊视频� can91裸聊视频檛 operate in Canadian waters until at least Oct. 31.
The move extends and expands an order issued in mid-March that barred ships with more than 500 passengers from Canadian waters until July.
Ships with more than 12 passengers can91裸聊视频檛 go to the Arctic until at least Oct. 31, for fear that one might carry COVID-19 to a remote northern community.
Other than that, after July 1, provincial and regional health officials will decide when and where smaller vessels can operate.
91裸聊视频淜eeping Canadians and transportation workers safe continues to be my top priority during the COVID-19 pandemic,91裸聊视频� Garneau said.
Garneau said he also understands this will create a significant economic hardship for Canada91裸聊视频檚 tourism industry. He indicated the federal tourism department is working on a plan to help.
Last year 140 cruise ships brought more than two million visitors to Canadian ports. A 2016 study found the cruise industry was large and growing, contributing more than $3 billion to Canada91裸聊视频檚 economy, including nearly $1.4 billion in direct spending by cruise lines and their passengers. More than 23,000 Canadians were directly or indirectly employed because of cruise ships.
British Columbia, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces benefit the most.
91裸聊视频淭he human impact is dramatic, there91裸聊视频檚 no question about it,91裸聊视频� said Charlottetown Harbour Authority CEO Mike Cochrane. 91裸聊视频淭o see it all come to a halt, it91裸聊视频檚 a very sad day for us.91裸聊视频�
The cruise industry91裸聊视频檚 direct and indirect economic impact to Prince Edward Island topped $52 million last year, he said. Until the pandemic hit, projections for the season 91裸聊视频� late April to late October in PEI 91裸聊视频� hovered around $60 million.
91裸聊视频淵ou look at mom-and-pop shops, restaurants, tour bus operators, taxis, Green Gables 91裸聊视频� it reaches everywhere,91裸聊视频� Cochrane said.
He and other officials linked to the cruise industry said they understood that the health and safety of local residents comes first. 91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 no road map for this pandemic, so all you can really do is roll up your sleeves and put your heart into rebuilding it,91裸聊视频� Cochrane said.
Home ports 91裸聊视频� where vessels are based 91裸聊视频� such as Vancouver or Quebec City stir up even more economic activity than ports of call as cruise lines stock up on fuel, food, alcohol, bedding and other supplies.
Industrial sectors feel the ripple effects of the virus too. A massive federally owned dry dock just west of Victoria typically supplements its work for the Royal Canadian Navy with cruise ship contracts.
91裸聊视频淲hen one of those cruise ships is getting refit, there can be up to 800 people working intensely for several weeks,91裸聊视频� said Barry Penner, a spokesman for Cruise Lines International Association 91裸聊视频� North West and Canada.
The refurbishments can include everything from new carpets to fresh bathroom fixtures, cabinetry, sonar, telecommunications and wastewater treatment systems, providing business to regional companies.
Cruise ships were one of the first- and worst-hit sectors from COVID-19 with hundreds of passengers falling ill on ships as they sailed in various parts of the world. Transport Canada monitored hundreds of ships with Canadians on board as they battled outbreaks, or weren91裸聊视频檛 allowed to dock in planned ports as countries closed to foreign tourists to keep COVID-19 out.
Several hundred Canadians were flown back to Canada and quarantined in Trenton, Ont., and Cornwall, Ont. after disembarking ships with outbreaks on them that docked in Japan and California. At least a dozen passengers from the Grand Princess cruise ship were diagnosed with COVID-19 after being quarantined in Trenton. One Canadian passenger who had been on board the Diamond Princess died in Japan in March after being hospitalized with COVID-19.
The Canadian Press
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