site logo
0207 980 2845

FREEPHONE   9am - 10pm

  • Home
  • Cruise Advice
  • Find your Perfect Cruise
  • Cruise Deals
September 3, 2013  |  By Emma Smith In Destinations, Industry

Venice step closer to cruise ship ban

Venice cruise ships

According to recent reports in the Italian newspaper Il Gazzettino, Venice has made another step towards banning cruise ships from its iconic Grand Canal.

Italy’s Environment Minister Andrea Orlando told the long-standing northern Italian daily that he intends to put proposals to enact emergency legislation banning ships of more than 500 tons from coming with two nautical miles of landscapes of cultural or natural performance before a cross-party parliamentary committee in October.

The legislation was drafted in the wake of the Costa Concordia accident and tensions in Venice were heightened in July when Carnival Breeze was alleged to have sailed very close to the shore to salute the line’s head Micky Arison, who was currently docked at the city on his own private yacht.

Orlando’s proposal was backed by mayor of Venice, Giorgio Orsini, who wants cruise ships visiting the city to dock at the nearby town of Porto Marghera and is the latest development in an on-going dispute between environmentalists and the cruise industry to ban cruise ships from Venice.

It emerged in July that the Italian parliament’s Environment Committee was at the review stage of a bill which could give the city council powers over the waters surrounding Venice. A ministerial decree was issued back in March banning ships weighing more than 40,000 tons from sailing close to the Doge’s Palace but it will only come into force once an alternative solution has been decided upon.

The close approach of large cruise ships as they pass along the Giudecca Canal has long been a concern of many Venetians and Mr Orlando’s proposals follow a new set of safety regulations for the city’s waterways drafted following the recent death of a tourist who was killed after the gondola he was in with his family collided with a reversing vaporetti water bus.

By Simon Brotherton
Google

Share this:

Emma Smith
Emma has more than seven years' experience as a writer and has been in the travel industry for nearly five years. She loves learning about new places and cruise ships coming to market, as well as discovering fun and exciting activities to do while you sail. She has cruised with Princess Cruises, Cunard, Celebrity Cruises, Virgin Voyages, Avalon Waterways and Royal Caribbean and is looking to get something in her diary for 2024! Her favourite things to see on a ship include excellent entertainment, a delicious cocktail menu and extraordinary dining venues.

Comments: no replies

Join in: leave your comment Cancel Reply

(will not be shared)

Previous StoryChoosing a Destination – Part Two
Next StoryFacts of the world – be amazed!

Recent Posts

  • Princess Cruises Enchanted Princess Is Coming To Southampton in 2022!
  • New Ship: Introducing Norwegian Viva!
  • Travel rules ease further with latest Covid rules
  • Cruise Line Testing Advice & Requirements
  • Cruise118.com Wave Award Winners 2021!

Search for Posts

Categories

  • Cruise lines
  • Cruise News
  • Destinations
  • Experience
  • Industry
Magazine WordPress Theme made by ThemeFuse