JAKARTA - For cruise ship passengers who choose the Mediterranean route, the beauty of the City of Venice, combined with hundreds of years of historic buildings to the distinctive bell tower, is a sight to always look forward to when entering the Venetian lagoon.
Ironically, one of the symbols of the existence of modern tourism, has also raised concerns from the people of Venice, related to environmental sustainability.
Yes, with its enormous size, it is feared that ships entering the lagoon will erode the seabed, directly impacting the change of the lagoon into a 'branch' of the Adriatic Sea.
The struggle to save the lagoon also received support from the government, with the decision to ban cruise ships and other large vessels from the lagoon.
In a statement released by Reuters, the Italian government said it wanted to reconcile the need to protect Venice and the lagoon's artistic, cultural and environmental heritage with the interests of shipping and freight traffic.
"The right decision, and it has been waiting for years. UNESCO has called for this in the past. Anyone who has visited Venice in recent years is surprised to see these ships, hundreds of meters long and as high as apartment buildings, pass through fragile place, "said Italian Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini as reported by CNN.
Plans to build a terminal outside the lagoon have already started and are in the stage of public consultation. This meant previous plans to steer the ship to Marghera and Fusina, both on the mainland but inside the Venetian lagoon, would not have been possible.
Previously, authorities had agreed to reroute large vessels from the St Mark's basin and the Giudecca Canal, where they are just meters from the city center, to dock at Marghera.
The massive floods that have hit Venice in recent years have also been linked to the erosion of the lagoon due to large ships. Although, there are also those who call it the impact of global warming.
Not an easy decision, considering that during the COVID-19 pandemic alone, more than 4 thousand local residents who worked in ports, lost their livelihoods
Cinzia Zincone, Extraordinary Commissioner for Autorità at Sistema Portuale del Mare Adriatico Settentrionale, which runs the Port of Venice, said in a statement to CNN that they will ensure collaboration in finding new solutions, while remaining reminded, every proposal must respect the criteria of safety, environmental suitability. and preserving the essence of the Venetian homeport in the shipping sector.
The port, last month, was opened for tender to design a new cruise ship terminal at Marghera, after a government committee ruled in December that larger ships should dock there, but smaller ones could continue to use the city's current ports.
Meanwhile, the founder of the social company Venezia Autentica, Valeria Dufloft, as positive news, is a real step in the right direction. He wants ships that dock to be more environmentally friendly, connected to electricity at anchor rather than leaving the engines running.
He also asked the cruise ship companies to contribute financially to the new port, as well as to support a shuttle system to carry passengers to the lagoon which would create jobs.
"Regulating the cruise ship industry is an important step in doing so. As one of the main Mediterranean ports, Venice has the power to move." We ask the city to be bold and set an example, "he hoped.
To note, this is not the first time the authorities have tried to ban cruise ships. Last year, the government's intention to try to reroute the big ships failed, because the government fell shortly thereafter.
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