Page 20: of Marine News Magazine (January 2022)

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Feature

Passenger Vessels

On December 4, 2021, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and Transportation

Commissioner Ryan Anderson announced their plan to reenergize the

Alaska Marine Highway System. Among the capital investments is a new ocean-class vessel to replace the 57-year-old Tustumena ferry.

Glosten scheduling changes, restoring service in the wake of cancel- restrictions may make U.S. river cruising more attractive. lations. Worker shortages saw sailings cut to 70% in early The small ship size and passenger number may make these

Autumn; one factor may have been a vaccine mandate that ships more appealing. The impact of COVID should mir- took effect in mid-October. ror the regions they sail in. One problem might be aware-

The delays in getting to the Infrastructure bill, and ness in that most people don’t think of river cruising when the in? ationary environment that has emerged in the they think of cruises.” economy (tied into the pandemic, in the view of many River and coastal cruising stalwart American Cruise economists), have also caused delays in marquee projects. Lines took delivery of American Melody, its fourth in a six-

In Maine, Casco Bay Lines, which saw 1.1 million riders vessel series being built at Chesapeake Shipbuilding, locat- in 2019 (and roughly half that number in 2020) has seen ed in Salisbury, Md. The September 2021 delivery follows an extended timeline in arranging funding for its hybrid- that of American Jazz a year earlier, American Harmony in powered Peaks Island Ferry, which would serve the coastal 2019, and American Song (now operating in the Paci? c region from Portland, still in the design stage. Northwest) in 2018, which the yard calls “the ? rst modern

There is a silver lining—actually, several boatloads of riverboat in U.S. history.” The ? fth vessel, with capacity for blessings from all the pandemic-related bad news of 2020- 175 overnight passengers, American Symphony, will offer 2021. The pandemic, with restrictions on international cruises on the Mississippi River system- delivery is set for travel, has fundamentally impacted the leisure sector. Put late Summer 2022. The newbuilds’ bow sections feature simply, U.S. travelers will stay closer to home. The shut- a retractable gangway; allowing for stopovers at destina- down of the international cruise industry throughout tions not considered as standard tourist destinations- and 2020 into 2021 has been front page news; domestically, therefore lacking a traditional berth. Dr. Coggins, from leisure travel on river cruises also took a hit. However, in Pace University, noted that: “U.S. river cruising can work the theme of “bouncing back”, river and coastwise cruise to increase its awareness among the public and work with expansion is in the cards, with many U.S. vacationers the destinations to focus on local festivals, unique muse- choosing to avoid travel abroad. Dr. Andrew Coggins, Pro- ums, and historic towns.” The new vessels are powered by fessor at Pace University and well-known expert on cruise a pair of 1,800 hp Caterpillar Tier 4 main engines, with and leisure vessels, told Marine News, “The recent upsurge Veth Z-drives, and Veth bow thrusters. The line is also re- in the Omicron variant and resulting international travel furbishing the 2015 built Queen of the Mississippi (and 20 | MN January 2022