THUNDER BAY – The federal government’s decision to extend a cruise ship ban for another year will cancel two planned stops in Thunder Bay this summer.
That will cost the city up to $100,000 in estimated economic impact, said Tourism Thunder Bay manager Paul Pepe, though he remains optimistic about bigger cruise ship plans set for 2022 and beyond.
Federal Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra issued an order Thursday extending a previous ban on cruise ships with more than 100 passengers for a full year, to Feb. 28, 2022.
“Temporary prohibitions to cruise vessels and pleasure craft are essential to… protect the most vulnerable among our communities and avoid overwhelming our health care systems,” Alghabra said in a statement. “This is the right and responsible thing to do.”
Pepe called the decision understandable, though surprising in its length.
“Certainly it’s something we were expecting, given how fluid the situation has been,” he said. “The length of the prohibition was a bit longer than we thought it would be.”
While disappointing, the lengthy extension at least provides clarity for the industry to plan ahead, Pepe said.
American Victory Cruise Lines and German Hapag-Lloyd had each planned one stop in Thunder Bay in the summer of 2021 by a vessel with more than 200 passengers.
Both stops would have been brief, eight to 10 hours, but would have injected an estimated $80,000 to $100,000 through coaches, shore excursions, and attraction visits, Pepe said.
The cruises had been on track to proceed if government policies allowed, he told city councillors earlier this week.
While it’s a loss, Pepe remains hopeful 2022 will bring much better news. For the first time in the modern era, a cruise ship company plans to use Thunder Bay as a turnaround point, with a brand new 378-passenger vessel landing in port seven times.
It will be the largest passenger ship the Great Lakes have ever seen, Pepe says. In port for about 48 hours on each stop, with both those embarking and disembarking staying at local hotels, it will bring a much more significant impact than those cancelled.
“Our cruise shipping strategy is long term,” Pepe said. “We’re working with these lines anywhere from two to five years out. So even though it’s disappointing we’re losing that business this year, we continue to grow the industry for the long haul.”
Thursday’s order also prohibits pleasure craft and all passenger vessels carrying more than 12 people from entering Canada’s Arctic waters.
There is no national ban for smaller cruise ships with 100 or fewer passengers, which must follow provincial and local health protocols.
