A Final Decision About Cruise Ships in Venice???

So the all important Mayoral election has been won by business-man and staunch supporter of the cruise ship industry, Luigi Brugnaro. Does this finally mean a decision will be made about cruise ships being allowed to sail in and out of Venice?

The story of large ships in Venice made media coverage last year when a certain Mr Clooney got married there. There was handsome George with his gorgeous wife-to-be on a beautiful little vintage  wooden speed boat in a canal with lots of other small boats full of Hollywood guests and hundreds of paparazzi when the wedding procession was blocked by a gigantic cruise ship.  The offending vessel was the 93,500 ton Norwegian Jade.

Cruise ship companies had stopped sending ships weighing over 96,000 tonnes into the city following a ban brought in after the 2012 Costa Concordia shipwreck off the coast of Tuscany. That ban has since been reversed but is still the subject of litigation. Before the election, both Brugnaro and the cruise ship industry said the issue of what kinds of ships ought to be let into Venice (and also which route they will use) would largely be determined by the next mayor. 

Venetians and environmentalists have long voiced concern about tourist vessels sailing close to the fragile city.  In November 2013 Italy’s government started limiting traffic on the lagoon and the Giudecca canal, which flows into the lagoon between the main island of Venice and the island of La Giudecca to the south.

From a purely personal (and pretty selfish) point of view, when I sailed from Venice last year if our ship hadn’t have been docked in such close proximity to the city centre we would not have had time to go and see all the beautiful sights that Venice has to offer. St Mark’s Square was a mere 10 minute water taxi ride from the ship. And the sailaway from Venice passing the city’s skyline was a positively moving experience.

However it finally looks like a victory for the cruise lines and a smack in the face for the environmentalists and locals who have campaigned for many years to stop the huge ships from sailing so close to the city.

What do you think about the decision? Do you support the Mayor or the environmentalist campaigners?

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