The Australian government is starting the process of resuming the international cruise business two years after the country shut down the cruise industry and ordered cruise ships to leave its waters due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the suspension, the cruise industry has had many attempts to come up with a restart plan, but the government didn’t approve any of them.
Last week Greg Hunt, the Minister for Health and Aged Care, announced that pandemic emergency response restrictions would be extended to April 17, which includes restrictions to allow cruise ships to enter Australia’s waters.
Over the weekend, Hunt spoke again and amended his initial statement. He said the federal government was starting to work with Australia’s states and territories to restart cruising. Hunt also said the states would have the main responsibility of making sure proper health protocols were in place in order to have a safe restart of the industry.
Cruise lines have said this is a breakthrough for the industry, and they hope there won’t be any more extensions to postpone the restart.
