Cruise ships banned from docking in downtown Ketchikan Alaska due to Coronavirus

   April 4, 2020 ,   Cruise Industry

Cruise companies will have to find some other spot than downtown Ketchikan AK to park their vessels as they ride out the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. That is after the Ketchikan city council on Thursday, April 2, unanimously rejected a proposal to allow the idled cruise liners to berth at the city-owned docks.

The companies approached Ketchikan’s port and harbours director, Steve Corporon, last month to float the idea. At a March 19 meeting, Corporon asked the City Council how to proceed. He laid out a series of conditions that the port city could place on any cruise ship wanting to tie up in Ketchikan, and most importantly, vessels with confirmed Coronavirus cases would not be allowed to tie up, and crew members would have to stay aboard. 

In case a crew needed medical care, Ketchikan would be bound by federal regulations in order to allow disembarkation.

Some council members initially offered tentative support. They thought that allowing cruise companies to moor their liners downtown could ingratiate the port city with the industry that drives much of the economy of Ketchikan.

Port of Ketchikan (Revillagigedo Island, Alaska)

But by Thursday, April 2, the tone of the council had changed. They accepted the recommendation of Karl Amylon, Ketchikan’s city manager, who argued that allowing the gargantuan vessels to dock would add more stress to residents’ lives as residents are already facing the stress of life in a pandemic. The vote was unanimous to decline the lines’ request.

For Coronavirus updates on cruise ship quarantines (infected passengers and crew) and top-pandemic countries (COVID-19 cases and deaths, daily updated statistics) see at CruiseMapper's Norovirus page.