It is now official: in Venice, large ships will no longer be permitted to pass through San Marco and the Giudecca Canal. Compensation for workers is expected. It is now official: in Venice, large ships will no longer be permitted to pass through San Marco and the Giudecca Canal. Compensation for workers is expected.
The Council of Ministers, after months of discussions and protests, yesterday afternoon approved the decree-law introducing urgent measures for the protection of waterways of cultural interest and for the safeguarding of Venice: from 1 August, large ships will be prohibited from transiting the San Marco basin, the San Marco Canal and the Giudecca Canal. A measure introduced to "ensure the integrity and decorum of all waterways declared national monuments".
The transit ban from 1 August in the protected areas of the Venice lagoon applies to ships weighing more than 25,000 tonnes, with a hull length at the waterline exceeding 180 metres, with an air draught exceeding 35 metres, excluding vessels with mixed sail-motor propulsion and the use of fuel during manoeuvring that produces polluting emissions (with a sulphur content equal to or greater than 0.1 per cent).
The same decree provides for measures for operators in the sector (shipping companies, terminal managers and service providers) most directly affected by the ban on large ships transiting the Venice lagoon.
After months of debate, near-disasters and demonstrations, the decree-law adopted "represents an important step in the protection of the Venetian lagoon system", reads a joint statement from the Council of Ministers. These measures intervene immediately with the necessary precautions and compensation to mitigate the employment impact on the sector, and are complemented by a competition of ideas — the call for which has already been published — for the future construction and management of mooring points outside the lagoon's protected areas, with the aim of making cruise activity compatible with landscape and environmental protection.
"To adapt the Marghera area to accommodate large ships, the construction of no more than five mooring points is planned," the statement continues. "A total investment of 157 million euros is earmarked for these works." All that remains now is to await developments that may, perhaps, put an end to the dispute once and for all.
