Paula Sweet
The Italian government will begin to limit the transit of cruise ships through the Giudecca Canal to the Piazza San Marco in Venezia, commencing next January.
Large cruise ships will be limited through the Canal and the largest, exceeding 96,000 gross tonnes, will be prohibited from November 2014.
The number of ships over 40,000 tonnes will be cut by 20 per cent to five, compared with 2012. The authorities are also targeting a 50 per cent reduction in emissions. Departures and arrivals are encouraged at sunrise and sunset, with a reduction for the middle of the day.
The move comes after residents and environmentalists protested about the damage caused by cruise ships to Venezia.
The large vessels will be diverted to a new shipping channel which is being developed with the main shipping terminal.
Paolo Costa, president of the Port Authority, calls the move ‘A good day for Venice and its port.’
However, Cruise Venice, representing the cruise lines, calls the limits ‘absurd’, and says Venezia will experience a loss of 180 vessels per year. ‘An irrational choice, devoid of any scientific basis, that will eventually bring down Venezia’s port,’ it says.
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