Alaska Senators Introduce New Legislation to Bypass Canada’s Cruise Ship Ban

Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan introduced the Alaska Tourism Recovery Act on Friday that, if passed, would allow cruise ships to travel between the state of Washington and Alaska without stopping in Canada. Currently, the Passenger Vessel Service Act — passed in 1886 — requires large foreign-flagged ships to stop in Canada before heading north to the state, which wouldn’t be possible this year as Canada extended its cruise ship ban through February 2022.