| Venice cruises resume

THE first post-pandemic ship to leave Venice has done so amid protest, with locals objecting to the passage of large vessels through the Venetian Lagoon.

Hundreds rallied on land and in small boats as MSC Cruises’ 2,550-passenger MSC Orchestra departed Venice en route for Croatia and Greece.

Port authorities and the Republic of Venice welcomed Orchestra’s departure, viewing it as a symbol of a return to normal.

“We are happy to be back… to restart the engines,” Cruise Lines International Association National Director Italy Francesco Galietti told Reuters.

“We care a lot about Venice and we’ve been asking for a stable and manageable solution for ships for many years,” he said.

However, the local government has for years been urged to ban large ships from passing through the Lagoon, forcing them to dock farther from St. Mark’s Square.

Campaigners worry about safety and the environment, including pollution and underwater erosion in a city already in peril from rising sea levels.

“We are here because we are against this passage but also against a model of tourism that is destroying the city, pushing out residents, destroying the planet, the cities, and polluting,” said one of the protestors.

The Government of Italy ruled in Apr cruise ships must not enter the centre of Venice, but rather dock across the Lagoon (CW 31 Mar).

However, the ban will not take effect until terminals outside the Lagoon have been completed.

Some of the traffic might be diverted to the nearby Porto Marghera facility starting from next year.