Editorial
Cruise business failure leaves questions

As tourism struggles to get its footing in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, it is interesting to note the different fortunes and outlooks of American Classic Voyages and Norwegian Cruise Line.

American Classic Voyages filed for bankruptcy last week and shut down its two interisland cruise ships, the Independence and the Patriot. The company said future bookings were way down and cash flow had dried up.

Norwegian has a rosier outlook here. It is extending its fall sailing season, effectively basing a second ship in the Islands except in the summer.

Obviously, these are different companies with different cost structures, and Norwegian has the flexibility to make more diverse decisions on where to position its ships and has the ability to adjust to changing cruise demands.

But we hope that Congress, which has been very generous to American Classic Voyages, asks some pointed questions in the wake of the shutdown. Was there a way for the company seek to reorganize and keep operating, for example?

This is a company that was the beneficiary of congressional legislation that gave it the exclusive right to operate interisland cruises. The company also received a special waiver allowing it to operate a foreign-built ship between U.S. ports while its new ships were being constructed. American Classic had agreed to buy two new ships being built in Mississippi. But work has stopped and the builder said it is waiting to see whether federal financing guarantees will continue.

Sen. Dan Inouye, who was behind the legislation to support American Classic, said this week the effort to grow the American cruise business was a risk he doesn't regret.

Now, Congress owes it to the taxpayers and the workers on the ships to find out whether there should have been — or still can be — a different outcome to this story.