US cruise law change?

REPRESENTATIVE for Alaska’s at-large congressional district in the United States’ House of Reps Don Young (pictured) is attempting to change a 100-yearold law, which could save the state’s 2021 cruise season.

Under the 1920s law, large, foreign-flagged cruise ships departing the United States must stop at a foreign port before returning to the US.

Cruises departing the West Coast typically call in Canada before heading to Alaska, but with that country continuing to enforce border closures with the United States and ban large ships from its ports, there’s no indication on when cruise ships will effectively be allowed to return to Alaska.

Young is seeking a way to ensure cruise ships can get to Alaska even if Canadian ports and borders remain shuttered, with one solution being to change the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, which currently prevents US-toUS sailings without a foreign stop.

The Congressman said he is in discussions with the airline and cruise industries to find a way to enable tourists to travel into and out of the state if Canadian ports are still off-limits by the time the cruise season starts.

Young is being aided by the Alaska Travel Industry Association, with its Chief Executive Officer Sarah Leonard saying the organisation started advocating in Mar for a waiver of the law, also known as the Jones Act, for vessels with a capacity of 500 passengers or more until Canadian ports reopen.

“This action remains a highpriority federal assistance for tourism businesses in Alaska as a way to mitigate continued job and revenue loss due to COVID-19,” she said.