A serious incident in Venice where a cruise ship lost control and destroyed a moored vessel. The toll: 4 people slightly injured, people in the water and the quayside damaged.
It could have been worse. Much worse. But it was only a matter of time before something happened: the MSC Opera cruise ship, one of the so-called "large ships", struck a vessel moored at San Basilio, in Venice, crumpling it and spreading panic among the tourists on board and near the ship. It happened this morning shortly after 8.30 am on the Giudecca canal, where cruise ships have been permitted to dock since 2017.
According to the local press, the incident occurred while the Opera was being towed by two tugboats. It appears there was an engine failure that locked to starboard (right) and that this caused one of the towlines to snap, effectively leaving the ship free to crash into the quayside and the lancione (the river vessel). Still according to local sources, the four people injured are foreign tourists aged between 67 and 72: one American woman, one New Zealander and two Australians.
The striking footage that has been circulating on social media in the past few hours shows a gigantic metal structure advancing clearly out of control towards a small moored vessel. Nothing seems able to stop it — except the quayside, which was indeed left damaged.
Mayor Brugnaro, who initially reported the incident on Twitter, later commented on events after visiting the scene.
Just a few days ago, during the Biennale, the well-known artist Banksy staged an intervention, precisely to protest against the large ships. The artist depicted a cruise ship entering the Grand Canal and blocking the view of Piazza San Marco and the other palaces of Venice.
