Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Thursday announced that the state, several Southeast Alaska communities and Norwegian Cruise Line have signed a multi-port agreement in accordance with requirements by the Centers for
Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Thursday announced that the state, several Southeast Alaska communities and Norwegian Cruise Line have signed a multi-port agreement in accordance with requirements by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bringing the likelihood of large ships carrying passengers to the state in 2021 closer to reality.
The large ships have been unable to operate in Alaskaâs waters since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the industry in early 2020.
The port agreements required by the CDC are the second big challenge for cruise lines to meet, after the U.S. Passenger Vessel Services Act recently was temporarily waived through bipartisan effort at the federal level. That waiver was approved by Congress in the past week, allowing large ships to bypass a Canadian stop as previously was required by law. The PVSA prevented visits to Alaska from other U.S. states by large ships due to the closure of Canadian ports through February 2022.