Report: Alaska Governor to Review State’s Cruise Ship Funding Policy

Anchorage Daily News is reporting that Alaska’s governor recently vetoed several line items in the state’s budget, totaling $444 million dollars. Among the cuts was funding for the state’s Ocean Rangers program.

The report says that Alaska’s legislature restored $3.4 million in funding for the program, but the governor can still veto even this funding. 

The Rangers voter-approved program was enacted in 2006. It employs marine engineers who “independently monitor cruise ship compliance with state and federal environmental laws,” reports the Anchorage Daily News. 

Alaska has seen several cruise ship tragedies in recent years, including an aerial crash in which two airplanes carrying cruise ship passengers collided mid-air earlier this year.