"Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honorable Omar Alghabra, announced two new Interim Orders, which prohibit pleasure craft in Canadian Arctic waters and cruise vessels in all Canadian waters until February 28, 2022," the statement said on Thursday.

Cruise ships accommodating more than 100 people are banned from Canadian waters until next February, the statement said. Passenger vessels carrying more than 12 individuals and all leisure craft are prohibited from entering the Canadian Arctic until that date as well.

Canada’s previous Transport Minister Marc Garneau had once extended the ban, which was initially introduced on March 13, 2000, on multiple occasions.