By
Rebecca Gibson |
The Italian government has reinstated cruise ship restrictions for the Giudecca Channel and St Mark’s Square in Venice.
The restrictions have been prompted by campaigns by locals and environmentalists who allege that the exhaust fumes and the vibrations created by the more than 600 annual cruise calls damages Venice’s historic buildings and fragile structures in the lagoon. There are also fears that parts of Venice could be severely damaged if an event like the Costa Concordia incident occurred.
Previously enforced in 2013 and overturned by the Veneto Regional Administrative Tribunal in March 2014, the inter-ministerial decree prohibits cruise ships greater than 96,000 gt from sailing through the Giudecca Canal and St Mark’s basin after January 2015. The restrictions also aim to achieve an annual 20% reduction in the number of ships weighing more than 40,000 gt sailing in the same waters.
In addition, the government is to launch an environmental impact study to develop a new Venice Lagoon channel to enable cruise ships to reach the city’s Stazione Marittima’s cruise terminals.
The Venice Committee has identified the Contorta-Sant’Angelo Channel excavation project as the only viable option to mitigate environmental concerns, while enabling Venice to maintain its position as a national and international cruise hub and safeguard the economic benefits generated by the cruise industry. The evaluation study must be conducted in 90 days to conform with the requirements for protecting the Venice Lagoon and comply with the Venice and its Lagoon UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.
Currently, cruise ships transit the Giudecca Channel past St Mark’s Square and sail through the Lido passage between the Adriatic Sea and the Venice Lagoon to reach the Stazione Marittima cruise terminal. In future, it is expected that cruise ships will enter the Malamocco southern passage and briefly follow the commercial ship channel to Marghera port, before joining the soon-to-be-excavated 4.8km Contorta-Sant’Angelo Channel to reach Stazione Marittima.
Before starting the project, the government needs to secure €115 million in funding and the relevant permits. According to forecasts, the excavation of the Contorta-Sant’Angelo Channel will take around 18 months, while the entire project will take a total of two years to complete.
Other projects could be evaluated if they advance to a sufficient level of detail.