Venice and cruise ships....Update!...ships banned from lagoon

[Hlitner]

I will admit to being puzzled by the recent news reports.  Over the years there has been several proposals, regarding maximum tonnage, but nothing was ever implemented.  The recent stories seem to indicate that a ban has actually been implemented but I could find nothing other then a reference to "larger ships."     I just found this interesting little article on the Internet:

Venezia: Ministri concordano su attracco temporaneo delle grandi navi a Marghera | mit

 

Anyone who has spent time in Italy understands that the Italian government sometimes cannot get out of its own way :).  So this announcement says that 4 Government Ministers have decided to now launch a "competition of ideas" to get ships out of the Lagoon."  This is almost laughable as they have already been tossing around the issue for more then a decade.   

 

I still cringe when I think of one or more 4000+ passenger vessels docked over on the mainland and how they will move the masses to and from Venice.  The result may prove to be much worse then the current situation with larger ships in the Lagoon :).

 

Hank

[cruisemom42]

 

After wading through still more articles, I would say that it is becoming clearer that they are agreeing to use Marghera (or Fusina, which was mentioned more last year) as a TEMPORARY solution only, and that the intention is to eventually keep cruise ships (and they are not even saying "large" cruise ships) out of the lagoon altogether.  That would eliminate Marghera as an option as it is still just inside the lagoon.

 

What they are looking for proposals to do involves building an entirely new cruise port outside the lagoon and to then move passengers across the lagoon "in an environmentally-friendly way" to Venice.

 

This has been signed off on by four major ministers so IMO it is unlikely to be struck down (at least while their party retains power...).  However, it will be years before a new terminal is constructed and ready and it seems they are okay with using Marghera (or Fusina) in the interim...

 

Nowhere is there any wording on tonnage. For now -- and subject to negotiation perhaps? -- I would say they mean ALL cruise ships, not just larger ones.

 

Here is a decent article on the topic that summarizes the latest:

 

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/venice-cruise-ship-ban/index.html

 

Edited to add:  ah, I posted too soon. I found an article that specifies they are banning ships of more than 40,000 tons.

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2021/04/01/venice-cruise-ban-city-prohibit-large-cruise-ships-city-center/4834623001/

Edited April 3, 2021 by cruisemom42

[dogs4fun]

The article above states that dolphins were spotted in the Grand Canal - how cool is that?

[Host Jazzbeau]

On 4/3/2021 at 9:53 AM, cruisemom42 said:

 

After wading through still more articles, I would say that it is becoming clearer that they are agreeing to use Marghera (or Fusina, which was mentioned more last year) as a TEMPORARY solution only, and that the intention is to eventually keep cruise ships (and they are not even saying "large" cruise ships) out of the lagoon altogether.  That would eliminate Marghera as an option as it is still just inside the lagoon.

And which century do you think they will have the PERMANENT solution ready?

[Tapi]

On 4/3/2021 at 9:53 AM, cruisemom42 said:

Edited to add:  ah, I posted too soon. I found an article that specifies they are banning ships of more than 40,000 tons.

So is it confirmed that ships less than 40,000 tons will still be allowed to transit  the Giudecca Canal and dock at the Port of Venice? 

[cruisemom42]

4 minutes ago, Tapi said:

So is it confirmed that ships less than 40,000 tons will still be allowed to transit  the Giudecca Canal and dock at the Port of Venice? 

 

As it is Venice we're talking about, I wouldn't feel secure in saying it is "confirmed" until there is something more definitive than this announcement. 

[Tapi]

7 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

As it is Venice we're talking about, I wouldn't feel secure in saying it is "confirmed" until there is something more definitive than this announcement. 

I guess we'll have to wait. I'm just kicking myself for canceling a cruise out of Venice a few years ago. I told myself that I'd do it some other time. 

[Hlitner]

On 4/6/2021 at 2:32 AM, Host Jazzbeau said:

And which century do you think they will have the PERMANENT solution ready?

I think you are being optimistic.  I would suggest substituting "millennia" for "century."

 

Hank