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The first cruise ship since the start of the pandemic has passed through the heart of Venice, escorted by triumphant tugs and elated port workers.
However, hundreds of people staged protests on land and in a small armada of wooden boats waving “no big boats†flags as the cruise ship descended the Giudecca Canal.
The battle for Venice’s future was fierce as the MSC Orchestra embarked with some 1,000 passengers.
The trip heralded the return of cruise ships to the historic Canal City after more than 18 months, but the ship reignited an anti-cruise movement that for more than a decade opposed the passage of huge ships. across the fragile lagoon due to the environment and safety concerns.
The government of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has pledged this spring to move cruise ships out of the Venice lagoon, but achieving this will take time.
Even an interim solution diverting large ships from the Giudecca Canal is not likely until next year. Ridding the lagoon of ships, which can be over 250 meters in length and weigh over 90,000 tonnes, could take years.
Venice has emerged as one of the most important cruise destinations in the world over the past two decades, and in 2019 served as a lucrative recovery point for 667 cruise ships carrying nearly 700,000 passengers and carrying a total of 1, 6 million, according to the Cruise Lines International association (Clia).
Passengers arriving on Saturday for the week-long cruise aboard the 16-deck MSC Orchestra, with stops in southern Italy, two Greek islands and Dubrovnik, Croatia, were greeted at the port with signs reading ” welcome cruises â€.
Antonella Frigo, from the nearby town of Vicenza, has had her departure date delayed several times due to the pandemic and was delighted to finally go on vacation. But she also sympathized with activists who want the huge ships moved from central Venice.
“I’ve always said they should be moved, but I’m sorry I have to leave Venice, as I’m from the surrounding area,†Ms. Frigo said after being dropped off at the cruise terminal. “But I hope they can be diverted. I ask myself, ‘Isn’t it possible to find another solution so that they don’t go where they shouldn’t?’
The message for passengers taking Venice from the ship’s decks was mixed as the ship sailed the Giudecca Canal past St Mark’s Square and the Doge’s Palace.
Hundreds of Venetians gathered in a noisy demonstration by the canal to demand the immediate halt of cruise ships crossing the lagoon, citing a series of past decrees that they say have never been implemented.
The MSC Orchestra responded with loud honking, as two dozen boats filled with harbor workers and VIPs circled alongside, celebrating the renewal of cruises and the return to work of hundreds of harbor workers.
According to the Venice works council, more than 1,700 workers deal directly with cruise ships, from tug operators to baggage carriers, while another 4,000 jobs depend on cruise traffic.
The long battle around cruise ships in Venice escalated after the Costa Concordia cruise ship sank off Tuscany in 2012, killing 32 passengers and crew. And it got worse after the MSC Opera struck a dock and a tourist boat, injuring five people, as it crossed the Giudecca Canal two years ago this week.
In all these years, no viable alternative has come off the drawing board.
The Venice Environmental Association, one of the groups against ships, demands that Italian cultural and port officials immediately ban ships from the lagoon, threatening legal action if there is no action within 15 days.
“It is a great provocation that a ship has passed,” said Andreina Zitelli, environmental expert and member of the association. “You can’t compare defending the city with defending jobs in the interests of the big cruise lines.”
The cruise industry trade association said it supports moving larger ships to other areas to avoid crossing the Giudecca Canal, but maintains cruise ships still need access at the Venice lagoon.
“We don’t want to be a corporate villain,†said Francesco Galietti, of Cruise Lines International Italy. “We don’t think we should be treated as such. We think we are good for the communities.
He said cruise ships make up only a small percentage of tourism in Venice, around 5%, and many passengers stay in the city before or after their cruises, contributing to the tourism dependent economy.
In Rome, the Italian government said it was organizing tenders for a viable alternative outside the lagoon, and the request for proposals is expected to be released soon. Yet even a tentative alternative route to the Giudecca Canal – moving larger ships to an industrial port west of Venice – won’t be ready until next year.
Preparing the port of Marghera, which still sits in the lagoon, requires lengthening existing piers to accommodate larger ships as well as dredging a canal on the approach, cruise industry officials say. . Under current plans, ships over 250 meters, accounting for around 70% of cruise traffic, would be rerouted.
