VANCOUVER (Reuters) -Canada will allow cruise ships back into its waters starting in November as the COVID-19 pandemic fades, but they must fully comply with public health requirements that have yet to be finalized, Ottawa said on Thursday.
Earlier this year, Canada extended a ban on cruise ships until February 2022, citing the need to protect public health. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a statement that the restriction would now be lifted on Nov. 1, 2021.
“We will welcome cruise ships – an important part of our tourism sector – back in Canadian waters for the 2022 season,” he said.
The news should please major operators who complained that Canada’s ban was hurting their business on the West Coast. U.S. law obliges foreign-flagged cruise ships sailing from Washington state to Alaska to make a Canadian stop.
Canada, however, has not yet lifted a ban on non-essential travel with the United States. A Canadian government official said Alghabra’s announcement would allow both nations to work on ways of safely managing the cruise sector.
Canadian experts “have been in close contact with their American counterparts about each other’s measures with respect to cruise ships, as well as options to open the cruise season safely,” said the official, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by David Gregorio and Paul Simao)
