Cruise ships to be banned from Venice historic centre
Cruise ships are to be banned from the centre of Venice following a crash in June between MSC Opera and a smaller Uniworld river boat.
The Italian government has announced that cruise ships will be gradually diverted from the Giudecca canal following the accident, which left five people injured.
MSC Opera crashed into the quayside of the major thoroughfare on June 2 after colliding with the River Countess.
Videos of the crash showed the cruise ship blaring its horn before hitting the Countess and the dock.
The crash caused damage to the Opera’s hull, leading to the cancellation of the rest of the cruise. Uniworld was forced to cancel six sailings on the River Countess.
Minister for transport Daniele Toninelli said that the decision to ban cruise ships from the historic centre of Venice ‘aims to avoid witnessing more invasions of the Giudecca by these floating palaces, with the scandals and risks that they bring’, according to the Financial Times.
The move, which follows a protest against large cruise ships in Venice shortly after the crash, will be gradually introduced from next month, with ships docking at terminals away from the centre of the city.
Authorities say they are planning to have rerouted a third of all cruise ships by next year.
The government banned ships weighing more than 96,000 tonnes from the Giudecca canal in 2013 but the legislation was later overturned.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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