VENICE, Italy (AP) – The first cruise ship to leave Venice since the pandemic will depart on Saturday amid protests from activists demanding that the giant ships be permanently out of the fragile lagoon, particularly the Giudecca Canal, through the historical center of the city, be diverted and security risks.
The government of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi promised to bring cruise ships out of the Venice Lagoon this winter, but achieving that goal will take time. But even an interim solution is not to be expected before next year and getting the ships out of the lagoon could take years.
Venice has developed into one of the most important cruise destinations in the world over the past two decades and, according to the Cruise Lines International (CLIA) association, served as a lucrative turning point for 667 cruise ships with almost 700,000 passengers in 2019.
Passengers who arrived on Saturday for the week-long cruise on board the 92,409-ton MSC Orchestra with 16 decks were greeted at the port with signs saying “Welcome Back Cruises”.
Antonella Frigo from nearby Vicenza had postponed her departure several times due to the pandemic and was happy to finally be able to go on vacation. But she also understood the need to move the huge ships out of central Venice.
“I’ve always said they should be relocated, but I’m sorry, I have to leave Venice as I’m so close,” Frigo said after being dropped off with a companion near the cruise terminal. “But I hope they can be postponed. I wonder, is it not possible to come up with another solution so that they don’t get past where they shouldn’t? “
The long battle for cruise ships in Venice intensified after the cruise ship Costa Concordia sank off Tuscany in 2012, killing 32 passengers and crew. And it worsened after another ship, the MSC Opera, hit a dock and tourist boat two years ago this week while maneuvering the Giudecca Canal, injuring five people.
In all these years, a viable alternative has never come off the drawing board.
The cruise industry trade association said it supports moving larger ships to other areas to avoid crossing the Giudecca Canal, but claims that cruise lines still need access to the Venice Lagoon.
“We don’t want to be a corporate villain,” said Francesco Gallieti from CLIA Italy. “We don’t feel that we should be treated that way. We feel good for the communities. “
Gallieti said cruise lines account for only a small percentage of tourism to Venice, around 5%, and that many passengers add stops at one end of their cruises, adding an average of $ 200 per day to the city’s tourism-dependent economy.
Before the pandemic, Venice was struggling with overtourism, facing 25 million visitors annually. It was on the verge of imposing a tax on day trippers before the pandemic broke out, which suddenly brought tourism to a standstill.
In Rome, the government announced that it was organizing offers for a viable alternative outside the lagoon, which should now be published every day. But even a preliminary alternative route to the Giudecca Canal won’t be ready until next year, the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility told The Associated Press.
“In the meantime, as an interim solution, a certain number of ships can dock in Marghera in 2022 and thus relieve traffic through Venice,” said the ministry.
Marghera, an industrial port west of Venice still in the lagoon, is requiring the extension of existing piers to accommodate larger ships as well as the dredging of a canal on approach, cruise industry officials say.
While some cruise companies have experimented with Trieste in the west or Ravenna in the south as destinations for those visiting Venice during the pandemic, industry officials say the lagoon city, with 1,600 years of history, is a major port of call for cruises in the Adriatic and eastern Mediterranean.
The passage of the MSC Orchestra on Thursday – which is 294 meters long and towers over Venice with 16 decks – was the first time since January 2020 that a cruise ship has entered the Giudecca Canal before the pandemic brought the industry to a standstill.
When the ship sets sail later on Saturday, passengers will enjoy a deck view of St. Mark’s Square, the Doge’s Palace, and the Bridge of Sighs as they exit the lagoon for a week-long cruise with stops in Bari, Italy. the Greek islands of Mykonos; and Corfu and Dubrovnik, Croatia.
You will also pass two groups of protesters: advocates of cruises whose jobs depend on the industry, and protesters from a movement called “No Big Ships” who have been campaigning for years to get cruise ships out of the lagoon.
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