Is cruising set to bounce back?

OF ALL of shipping's sectors the cruise ship business has been the hardest hit. With very few exceptions all cruise programmes have come to a complete halt. Revenue streams have dried up while the costs of keeping the fleet afloat but not earning are huge.

A statement from global ship's agents Inchcape Shipping Services gives an insight into how the sector may bounce back.

Grant Holmes, the company's head for the cruise industry, notes: "2019 was one of the best years ever for cruise. And 2020 was widely projected to be an even-better year. Then came Covid-19 and by mid-March the pandemic had paralysed the sector."