Cruises To Nowhere News

A Genting Cruise Lines ship on a "cruise to nowhere" has returned to Singapore after a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a passenger, and the nearly 3,000 passengers and crew on board were confined to their cabins through most of Wednesday.The 40-year-old passenger tested positive onboard and the result was confirmed after the person was taken to hospital once the ship docked early on Wednesday, the Singapore Tourism Board said, following the detection of the suspected case."The passenger was identified as a close contact of a confirmed case on land…

Singapore currently accounts for a third of the world’s cruises its tourism body said on Wednesday, owing to the roaring success of its “cruises to nowhere” at a time of crisis in the industry globally.Cruises have yet to restart in many parts of the world after taking a beating from the coronavirus pandemic, with some of the earliest big outbreaks found on cruise ships.The city-state launched what it called “round trips” on luxury liners in November, which have no port of call and last only a few days.

As the maritime world collectively feels its way forward in a time now defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers of the SMM in Hamburg, traditionally the world's largest and most influential maritime and shipbuilding trade event, share market overview insights on the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic throughout the the shipping industry.The Covid-19 pandemic has turned the world economy on its head. “The recession this year will likely be more severe, and recovery in 2021 will be slower than we anticipated two months ago…

The South Carolina Senate amended and then approved General Bill 3002, which would prohibit certain "cruise to nowhere" gaming operations. As passed by the Senate, the bill would impose a general prohibition against gambling on cruises that begin and end in the state, and which do not make an intervening stop within the boundaries of another state or a foreign country. The measure provides an exemption from the general prohibition for voyages and voyage segments that begin and end in the state, are part of a voyage to another state or a foreign country, and in which the vessel reaches the outer state or foreign country within three days after leaving the state in which the segment begins.

The South Carolina Senate amended and then approved General Bill 3002, which would prohibit certain "cruise to nowhere" gaming operations. As passed by the Senate, the bill would impose a general prohibition against gambling on cruises that begin and end in the state, and which do not make an intervening stop within the boundaries of another state or a foreign country. The measure provides an exemption from the general prohibition for voyages and voyage segments that begin and end in the state, are part of a voyage to another state or a foreign country, and in which the vessel reaches the outer state or foreign country within three days after leaving the state in which the segment begins.

Senator Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) introduced the "States Prevention of Oil Tanker Spills Act" (S. 2506), which seeks to reinstate Washington state oil tanker safety laws overturned by the Supreme Court in Intertanko v. Locke and United States v. Locke. In a press release, Senator Gorton said, "I disagree with the Court's decision, because I believe Washington State should be allowed to protect its shores as it sees fit." The Gorton legislation would reinstate the right of all states to adopt additional standards beyond existing federal requirements governing the operation, maintenance, equipment, personnel and manning of oil tankers. While the legislation would apply to all coastal states, Gorton's interest is focused on recently overturned Washington statutes.

House Bill (H.B.) 19, in North Carolina, was passed by the North Carolina House of Representatives. The bill prohibits "cruises to nowhere" and regulates other offshore gaming operations the state doesn't have the authority to ban outright. Vessels that embark and disembark passengers in North Carolina, but make an intervening stop in a neighboring state, would be regulated under the bill. To be considered to have made an intervening stop, a vessel would have to dock at a port in another state, remain continuously at the port for at least six hours, and allow passengers to disembark the vessel for sightseeing, shopping or other similar tourism-related activity.

U.S. ports got confirmation at its Annual Convention meeting from a just-released General Accounting Office (GAO) Report that both the number and the dollar amount of fees assessed on the maritime industry have increased since the last study was released in 1993. The GAO Report, Federal Assessments on the Maritime Industry, states 11 federal agencies collect 124 different fees and assessments on maritime commerce, for a total of almost $22 billion ($21 billion of which is collected by U.S. Customs alone). Total collections have increased from $18.2 billion in fiscal 1991 to $21.9 billion in fiscal 1998. "This confirms what we've been saying for years: Shippers, vessel owners, operators, importers and exporters are already heavily taxed," said Kurt J. Nagle, AAPA president.

The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Bay Casino, which operates a gaming vessel on "cruises to nowhere" from Brooklyn, did not violate federal law by operating its shipboard casino more than three, but less than 12 miles offshore, concurring with a lower court's decision. The court affirmed the lower court's dismissal of the civil forfeiture action against the company. The government argued when Congress passed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, in which it extended the U.S. territorial seas out to 12 miles "for purposes of Federal criminal jurisdiction," shipboard gambling was rendered illegal within the 12-mile limit.

House File 103, introduced by Rep. Gary B. The measure was referred to the State Government Committee. In New York, S. 1399, introduced by Sens. Frank Padavan (R), Joseph R. Holland (R), Kenneth P. LaValle (R) and John J. Marchi (R), would prohibit gambling "cruises to nowhere" from New York. The prohibition would not apply to gambling activity conducted on vessels traveling to New York from a foreign nation or another state, up to point of first entry into New York waters. Nor would it apply to vessels traveling from New York to a foreign country or another state, starting from the point of departure from New York waters. The measure was referred to the Codes Committee. General Bill 3002 would prohibit gambling on "cruises to nowhere" from South Carolina.

Federal District Judge David Norton issued a declaratory judgment, giving Dewayne Williams, who runs LA Cruise, Inc. of Mayport, Fla., permission to operate a "cruise to nowhere" vessel out of South Carolina. Williams has expressed interest in operating a casino boat out of Murrells Inlet. Casino gambling is banned in South Carolina, but federal law permits "cruise to nowhere" gaming ships to operate in the absence of a state law specifically prohibiting them. Norton pointed out in his ruling, the only way the state could prevent "cruises to nowhere" from taking passengers into international waters (three miles offshore) to gamble, would be to pass a law specifically forbidding such activity. A general ban on casino gambling is not sufficient.

The American Shipbuilding Association (ASA) represents the six largest shipbuilding companies in the United States: Avondale Industries, LA; Bath Iron Works, ME; Electric Boat, CT and RI; Ingalls Shipbuilding, MS; National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, CA; and Newport News Shipbuilding, VA and CA. These shipbuilders are the largest private manufacturing firms in five states and represent hundreds of thousands of supplier manufacturing jobs in 46 states. On behalf of the American shipbuilding industry, it is my pleasure to share with the readers of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News the agenda and focus of the American Shipbuilding Association (ASA) as we enter the next century.

U.S. ports got confirmation at its Annual Convention meeting from a just-released General Accounting Office (GAO) Report that both the number and the dollar amount of fees assessed on the maritime industry have increased since the last study was released in 1993. The GAO Report, Federal Assessments on the Maritime Industry, states 11 federal agencies collect 124 different fees and assessments on maritime commerce, for a total of almost $22 billion ($21 billion of which is collected by U.S. Customs alone). Total collections have increased from $18.2 billion in fiscal 1991 to $21.9 billion in fiscal 1998. "This confirms what we've been saying for years: Shippers, vessel owners, operators, importers and exporters are already heavily taxed," said Kurt J. Nagle, AAPA president.

New Jersey's governor signed into law a bill prohibiting the operation of gaming "cruises to nowhere" from the state. The gaming prohibition does not apply to "gambling activity conducted on U.S.-flagged or foreign-flagged vessels during travel from a foreign nation or another state or possession of the U.S. up to the point of first entry into New Jersey waters, or during travel to a foreign nation or another state or possession of the U.S. from the point of departure from New Jersey waters." Assembly No. 983, sponsored by Assemblyman Kenneth LeFevre (R-Atlantic) and Francis Blee (R-Atlantic) took effect immediately upon signing.

Assembly Bill (A.) 6771, legislation to make cruise-to-nowhere gaming a class E felony, was introduced by Assembly members Richard Gottfried (D-New York), Adriano Espaillat (D-New York), Deborah Glick (D-New York) and Susan John (D-Monroe). Senate Bill 1399, introduced by Frank Padavan (R-Queens), Joseph Holland (R-Orange, Rockland), Kenneth LaValle (R-Suffolk) and John Marchi (R-Richmond) is identical to A. 6771. The bill would prohibit casino gaming on vessels embarking from any point within the state and disembarking at the same, or another point, within the state.

Administrative Law Judge Linda Rigot issued a summary final order in the case regarding the Day Cruise Association, which challenged Florda Gov. Jeb Bush's proposed rule to prohibit cruise-to-nowhere vessels from operating gaming cruises from state-owned docking facilities after the expiration of their "sovereign submerged land" leases. Rigot's final order stated the proposed rule "is an invalid exercise of delegated legislative authority because the Trustees have exceeded their grant of rulemaking authority." The Day Cruise Association is an association of private companies, controlling 17 vessels providing "cruises to nowhere" in Florida.

A bill banning gaming "cruises to nowhere" received unanimous approval from a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee. The measure, known as the Gambling Cruise Prohibition Act, would prohibit casino gaming on any voyage that begins and ends in South Carolina, "during which the vessel does not make an intervening stop within the boundaries of another state or possession of the U.S. or a foreign country." The purpose of the bill, as stated in its first section, is to "clearly and unequivocally…prohibit gambling activities on so-called 'cruises to nowhere' as provided in 15 U.S.C. 1175." General Bill 4491 explicitly applies to all vessels, regardless of registry, and offers no exclusion for the large Carnival Cruise Lines ships that call on Charleston.