The first cruise ship to leave Venice since COVID-19 restrictions were eased set sail on Saturday, but some local residents protested over the return to normal, unhappy about the passage of giant liners through the historic lagoon city.
Hundreds of people rallied on land, and small boats fluttering flags saying “No big ships” surrounded and followed the 92,000-tonne MSC Orchestra as it departed Venice port en route for Croatia and Greece.
“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 Marta Sottoriva, a 29-year-old teacher and Venice resident.
Photo: AFP
However, port authorities, workers and the city government welcomed the presence of the Orchestra, operated by MSC Cruises, seeing it as a symbol of business starting after the health crisis that hit hard at the cruise industry and the wider travel sector.
“We are happy to be back ... to restart the engines. We care a lot about Venice and we’ve been asking for a stable and manageable solution for ships for many years,” said Francesco Galietti, national director for the trade group Cruise Lines International Association.
Some residents have been urging governments for years to ban large cruise ships and other big vessels from passing through the lagoon and docking not far from the famed 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 waters.
“The struggle is very long, I think we are against very big financial interests,” Marco Baravalle, a 42-year-old researcher, and member of the No Grandi Navi (“No Big Ships”) group.
He and other protesters were worried that “everything will go back to what we had before the pandemic,” he added.
Italy’s government in April ruled that cruise ships and container vessels must not enter Venice’s historic center, but rather dock elsewhere.
However, the ban would not take effect until terminals outside the lagoon have been completed, and a tender for their construction has not been launched yet.
Part of the traffic might be diverted to the nearby port of Marghera starting from next year.
The Orchestra was escorted outside the port not just by small vessels protesting, but by tugboats that saluted it with water sprays, a sea tradition reserved for special occasions.
The 16-deck ship can carry more than 3,000 passengers and 1,000 crew, but for this voyage would be sailing at only half capacity due to COVID-19 social distancing rules.
“It’s an important day for us, for 4,000 workers and many others who work in this sector. We are starting again after over 17 months, finally there is light at the end of the tunnel,” said Alessandro Santi, chairman of the Federlogistica business group.
He said the port community favored the bans, but alternatives had to be found given the importance of tourism for the city.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net