Venice bans large cruise ships
Radical turn for Venice and large cruise ships. It will no longer be possible to dock in the lagoon, as decided by the [...]
Radical turn for Venice and large cruise ships. They will no longer be allowed to dock in the lagoon, as decided by the Draghi government in a decree law to regulate cruise traffic in the territory. For 2021, the following have been allocated 2.2 million to set up docking points For ships outside the protected waters of the Venetian lagoon.
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The design of a new port
After the crash of the Mcs Opera against the St. Basil's dock, which occurred on June 2, 2019, the government decreed the decision to eject cruise ships to avoid further risks to the city of Venice related to the passage of the 'giants of the sea'. Within 60 days of the entry into force of the measure, the North Adriatic Sea Port System Authority is to launch a competition of ideas for the development of proposals and projects of technical and economic feasibility to build and operate docking points outside the protected waters of the lagoon.
The objective of the decree law is to allow cruise activity to take place, but at the same time To safeguard the uniqueness and excellence of cultural heritage, landscape and environmental of the area. Docking points outside the protected waters of the lagoon should be used "by passenger ships of more than 40,000 gross tonnage and container ships engaged in transoceanic transport."
The timeframe for the new port outside the lagoon will be long, so in the short term the stable indication remains December 21, 2020. All the big ships will have to be diverted to the industrial docks of Porto Marghera. The way to avoid San Marco and the Giudecca Canal will be the Canale dei Petroli, entering from the Malamocco inlet. It will then proceed to the North Channel of Marghera where it will be possible to dock. The port of Venice should have a cost of 41 million and the €936,804 planning notice will expire on April 15.
The passage of cruise ships in Venice
The history of large cruise ships in Venice has long been at the center of debate by the municipality, the region, cruise lines and the government. In 2012 the Clini-Passera decree banned transit for passenger ships over 40,000 tons in the Giudecca Canal. The decision had depended on the presence of viable alternatives, which were not prepared. In 2014 the same decision was made by the Interministerial Committee, but the TAR annulled the measure. All cruise ships, under 96 thousand tons, continued to transit even after the "Opera" incident. In June 2019, the cruise ship crashed into a river boat in the Giudecca Canal. Thus, it has now been arranged to reroute traffic to two terminals in Porto Marghera via the Oil Canal, away from the historic center.