Tag Archives: Arctic

Canada pauses cruise shipping until 2022

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North American cruise shipping took another beating after Canada extended its cruise shipping ban until 28 February 2022

Interim orders announced by Canada’s ministry for transport (Transport Canada) mean passenger vessels carrying more than 12 people are prohibited from entering Arctic coastal waters, including Nunatsiavut, Nunavik, and the Labrador Coast. In addition, cruise vessels carrying more than 100 people are also prohibited from operating in Canadian waters.

While the order affects Canada, the extension of the ban is likely to affect Alaska and Seattle in the United States through a combination of geographical proximity and US maritime rules.

The Passenger Vessel Services Act requires that ships not flying the United States flag, and primarily America-operated, stop at a foreign port between US ports, which in this case includes Canadian ports.

Over the last two decades, Seattle’s cruise industry has grown, especially as a departure point for cruises to Alaska. The extension of Canada’s ‘no-sail’ order is another blow to Seattle’s US$7.8Bn tourism industry, of which cruise shipping rakes in US$900M.

Norwegian Bliss in the Port of Seattle

According to the Port of Seattle, which is also the US west coast’s largest cruise ship homeport, cruise shipping supports 5,000 people in the region and each homeported vessel brings in over US$4M to the regional economy, US$14.5M in statewide taxes, and generates nearly a billion dollars in business activity over the whole season.

Responding to the Canadian Government’s decision, the Port of Seattle said: “This impacts our homeported cruises which would stop at a Canadian port, per the Passenger Vessel Services Act, on their Alaska itineraries.”

Transport Canada said new prohibitions will allow public health authorities to continue focusing on “the most pressing issues, including the vaccine rollout and new Covid-19 variants.”

Canada’s Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra said “Temporary prohibitions to cruise vessels and pleasure craft are essential to continue to protect the most vulnerable among our communities and avoid overwhelming our healthcare systems. This is the right and responsible thing to do.”

“Cruise vessels in Canadian waters pose a risk to our healthcare systems. The Government of Canada will continue to evaluate the situation and make changes as necessary to ensure the health and safety of all Canadians. Should the Covid-19 pandemic sufficiently improve to allow the resumption of these activities, the Minister of Transport has the ability to rescind the Interim Orders” said Transport Canada.

Viking Octantis Floats Out Ahead of 2022 Debut

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Viking has announced its first expedition ship – the 378-guest Viking Octantis – was “floated out” at VARD, marking a major construction milestone and the first time that the new ship touches water.

Scheduled to debut in early 2022, the Viking Octantis will spend her maiden season sailing voyages to Antarctica and North America’s Great Lakes.

A second, identical expedition ship, Viking Polaris, is set to debut in summer 2022 and will sail journeys to Antarctica and the Arctic. 

“Working with Fincantieri over the last eight years, we have built the world’s most beautiful ocean ships. We are pleased to continue our partnership with Fincantieri’s VARD and celebrate this important milestone in the construction of our first expedition vessel,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking.

“In creating ‘the thinking person’s expedition,’ we are perfecting polar expedition cruising, and we will usher in a new era of comfortable exploration in the heart of North America. Viking Octantis and her sister ship, Viking Polaris, will allow our guests to explore further – to the ends of the earth as well as closer to home. I would like to thank our partners at VARD and everyone working at the yard for the hard work and dedication on the building of Viking Octantis; we look forward to welcoming her to our fleet in early 2022.”

The float out is significant because it denotes a ship moving into its final stage of construction. The float-out ceremony of the Viking Octantis took place on December 22; she was then moved to a nearby outfitting dock for further construction and interior build-out. After final outfitting, Viking Octantis will be delivered at Fincantieri’s VARD shipyard in Søviknes, Norway.

Zito: Swan Hellenic Ready for Strong Start-Up

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The CEO of Swan Hellenic, Andrea Zito, said that the company is in a good position ahead of its launch in 2021.

“We are receiving only positive comments from the former customers of Swan Hellenic. The sector is reacting very well to the fact that Swan Hellenic is being resurrected in a way,” Zito told Cruise Industry News.

The first of two new expedition ships, the m/v SH Minerva, debuts into service for the brand in 2021.

The revived Swan Hellenic launched earlier this year. However, the brand is actually 70 years old and was acquired in December 2020.

“One and a half [years ago], the group started the negotiation and placed the order for two ships with Helsinki shipyard for delivery at the end of 2021 and mid-2022. And then the pandemic came. This was not really planned,” Zito said.

The coronavirus pandemic caused Swan Hellenic to postpone any announcements from spring to July. However, otherwise, Zito’s company had adjusted to the challenging conditions.

“It’s a little bit slower, but we are doing things very efficiently. It is amazing to realize how many things you can accomplish without travelling continuously,” he said, describing the challenges of having offices in different European countries.

Zito said that Swan Hellenic offers what seasoned travellers look for.

The company will sail to destinations in New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Russia, and, Zito said proudly, the semi-circumnavigation of Antarctica.

“Our ships are some of the very few ships that have Polar Class 5 … So we can stay longer, we can go deeper in the environment and, most importantly, we can go safer because the characteristics of the ships are of higher safety standards to ensure that passengers are well protected,” he said.

According to Zito, Swan Hellenic’s ultimate goal is to cover the whole world.

“It’s not just a box-ticking exercise, it caters to people who are thirsty for knowledge: they are curious and they want to discover various parts of the world. And the world is still very big.”