Florida senators hope to reawaken cruise industry with new bill 

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    PORT CANAVERAL, FL (WESH  ) — Florida’s U.S. senators are hoping to reawaken the cruise industry with a bill that would make a plan to safely set sail again.

The shutdown has far-reaching economic impacts and there’s no sign cruising will start soon.

Cruise ships have sat idle since March 13, and a hoped-for October restart doesn’t look possible.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are going unspent while those working for cruise lines are still unemployed.

A passenger transportation company at Port Canaveral has laid off all but six of its staff of 25.

The charter fishing industry is down, and even though the commercial fishing industry is doing OK, commercial fishing interests want the cruise ships back.

Seafood Atlantic is filling its counters with fresh catch, but its owner Jim Busse fears for the port’s very survival.

“Without Port Canaveral, our fishing industry would be pretty much shut down,” Busse said.

A new push by Florida’s senators would set the ground rules and set up an approval process for the return of cruising during the pandemic.

However, port officials don’t see a re-start this year. On the bright side, they say Port Canaveral is well-positioned to lead the way because it’s within driving distance of a huge segment of the market.

“People aren’t jumping on planes right now, but they’re willing to take a cruise if they can drive there. I think we’re ideally suited to be one of the first to get started,” Port Canaveral CEO Capt. John Murray said.

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