Venice regional court of appeal (Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale) has revoked the order on banning large ships from passing through the city center.
Namely, the Italian government decided to prevent all ships exceeding 96,000 tons from sailing along the Guidecca Canal to the city’s main cruise terminal.
The decision also reduced the number of ships over 40,000 GT passing through the area to five per day. The reasoning behind the decision to bar the colossal ships was based on the intention to reduce the effect of growing traffic on Italy’s floating city.
According to the court ruling, the restriction could be imposed only once alternative routes for the ships in questions are in place.
The government had issued a plan to open up an alternative route for the gigantic ships, which outraged the environmentalists and the residents fearing the impact on the lagoon’s frail environment.
So far, members of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) have voluntarily stayed clear from the area complying with the ban.
The Association was quoted by the Telegraph as saying that it would continue to wait for an alternative route to Venice’s cruise terminal – proposed by Italian authorities – to be built.
As informed, the Italian Transport Ministry plans to appeal the decision.
World Maritime News Staff; Image: Port of Venice