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 countries to work on ways of safely managing the cruise sector.
“We’re working hard through our embassy, through our officials, myself, through our department, and ensuring that we maintain business as usual,” Alghabra told reporters.
He gave no indication of when the border between the United States and Canada would reopen to tourists.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Montreal on Thursday that Ottawa would make an announcement on the next steps to reopening the border in the coming weeks.
A day earlier he had said it “would be catastrophic and heartbreaking to have to go back into lockdown, as some countries are now looking at with surges in the Delta variant, because we were overly eager to reopen by a few weeks.”
Royal Caribbean International has announced that it’s extending the Singapore season for the Quantum of the Seas through February 2022.
This marks the third season extension for the Quantum in Singapore, which first returned to cruising in December 2020. To date, on 60-plus ocean getaways, more than 82,000 guests have safely sailed with zero occurrences of COVID-19 onboard, the cruise line wrote in a press release.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to extend the Quantum’s ultimate ocean getaway through early next year, providing Singapore residents with more time to relax and unwind. Despite the constantly evolving circumstances, Royal Caribbean remains consistent in delivering a wonderful holiday experience. We know that with her remarkable breadth of activities, delicious meals and unparalleled views, Quantum has many fans in Singapore, and there continues to be an overwhelming demand for sailings,” said Angie Stephen, managing director, Asia-Pacific, Royal Caribbean International.
The cruise line said that it has made every effort to keep guests and crew aboard the Quantum safe through a multilayered set of health and safety measures, which include pre-departure wellness screenings using gold-standard PCR tests, contactless embarkation and debarkation, and enhanced HVAC filtration systems and sanitization.
“The health and safety of our guests remain our utmost priority, and we are continuing to be nimble as we follow the science and work closely with the Singapore government and health authorities to evaluate, update and adhere to prevailing measures. In the next few months, as more Singapore residents become fully vaccinated, we anticipate that we’ll begin sailing with the fully vaccinated crew and vaccinated guests age 12 and older alongside children who are not yet eligible for vaccines,” added Stephen.
Singapore residents can choose between Quantum’s three- and four-night ocean getaways. The ship features activities, such as the RipCord by iFly sky diving adventure and the FlowRider surf simulator, entertainment that blends art, music and technology, and dining flavours from across the world at 18 restaurants onboard.
In line with the recent government regulations, the Quantum currently sails at 50-per cent guest capacity, and holidaymakers from different households have the option of travelling in groups of five.
Portugal’s Navalrocha Shipyard said that it is continuing its “robust performance” through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with a “steady pipeline of work through to 2024.”
According to a press release, the first six months of 2021 have involved a series of stand-out drydock projects – involving general cargo vessels, tugs, passenger ferries, bunker tankers, Ro-Ro Pax vessels, LPG carriers and cruise vessels.
Navalrocha Commercial Director Sergio Rodrigues said order volumes are even outweighing comparative levels at the mid-year point over the last three years, with close to 50 tenders now completed. The yard also expects to break the 100-tender barrier before year-end, marking its busiest spell since 2017.
“Throughout the last 18 months, our team and wider supply chain have demonstrated immense commitment and dedication, remaining steadfast in their service,” said Rodrigues. “As a result, we have been able to deliver a consistently robust response, rewarding the trust continually placed in us by our loyal client base. The outlook for the remainder of 2021 is looking very promising with several high-profile bookings already placed for summer and autumn involving bunker vessels, tugs, cement carriers and naval hydrographic survey vessels to name a few.”
Rodrigues noted that Navalrocha is also seeing a “resurgence in cruise sector work with a string of projects placed over the next 24 months.”
Navalrocha said that it opened its account in 2021 with a four-day project involving the Ponta do Sol general cargo vessel, owned by Transinsular, involving work to propeller blades and refitting seals.
The short job was followed by the completion of an extensive project involving the Ulisses tug vessel, owned by Reboport. This vessel underwent a major conversion involving the removal and reintegration of two Wartsila main engines with further work to auxiliary engines, amongst a broad package of repairs.
In February, the yard welcomed Atlantic Ferries passenger vessel Roaz Corvineiro for a 25-day reclassification project involving extensive blasting, painting and mechanical work. Later in the month, two MM Marine vessels arrived for separate 14-day drydocking as part of continued BWTS installations across the company fleet. Both the Halki and Anafi bunker tankers were fitted with new Ballast Water Treatment Systems, before undergoing blasting, painting, steel, mechanical and piping work.
By the spring, Transinsular booked the recently converted Dona Tututa Ro-ro passenger ferry for a 38-day project involving complete blasting and painting, steel renewal and extensive repairs to the stern-ramp. Later in April, the Santos LPG Carrier, managed by Singapore-based Executive Ship Management, entered for a reclassification, involving blasting and painting, propeller shaft removal and inspection, along with repairs to valves, pumps and mechanical equipment. This marked a company first for Navalrocha with all repair work coordinated with a remote superintendent via video conference calls.
Also, in April, the Garça Branca passenger ferry from Atlantic Ferries underwent a 20-day drydocking for reclassification, painting and mechanical work, before the yard welcomed its first cruise sector job of the year with the arrival of SeaDream II operated by SeaDream Yacht Club for a 35-day project. Widescale refurbishment included blasting, painting, steel renewal and piping work alongside overhauls to luxury passenger accommodation and public areas. Rounding off the period, in late May the yard completed a 12-day pontoon inspection, painting and repair contract for Confeitaria Nacional River Cruise’s Lisboa Vista Do Tejo.
“Navalrocha offers its customers a number of unique benefits,” said Rodrigues. “Firstly, our strategic location in the sheltered Tagus Bay provides ideal ship repair and conversion conditions such as blasting and painting, with more than 300 days of sunshine every year. Crew members also benefit from the vibrant and cosmopolitan capital city of Lisbon on the doorstep.”
According to him, the shipyard offers “faster and more cost-effective solutions to ship operators looking to avoid the congested Strait of Gibraltar or Mediterranean.”
“Furthermore, the scale of our operation places us at an operational advantage with three easy-to-manage drydocks. This ensures every project receives ‘priority treatment’ from a 70-strong workforce and cluster of world-class sub-contractors located on-site,” Rodrigues noted.
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