The head of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) called on the U.S. government to allow a resumption of cruises with vaccinated passengers in a plan he dubbed “Cruise Forward.”
In a statement posted on the FMC website, commissioner Louis Sola laid out “a path to the safe resumption of cruise vessel operations revolving around vaccines.”
The plan calls for only permitting vaccinated individuals to travel as passengers and vaccinating all crew. He also proposed prioritizing vaccinations for the maritime workforce, particularly terminal workers and longshore labor.
The proposal also makes suggestions regarding ship sanitation and industry and port coordination around evacuation, isolation, and the provision of medical care of infected individuals.
Sola presented the plan on the anniversary of the cessation of cruise operations in the U.S., saying it has come at a cost of $59 billion and counting.
Sola also recently encouraged the Biden administration and Congress to consider a limited exception to the Passenger Vessel Services Act to address the extension of Canada’s cruise ban into 2022 and its potential risk to the Alaska cruise season. Sola had earlier said that the state had been disproportionately impacted by the cruise ban.