Venice could be ‘cruising’ into endangerment

UNESCO on Monday announced that they would discuss Venice getting an 'endangered' tag in their July session

The lagoon city of Venice risks being christened ‘endangered’ by the UN art heritage agency if cruise ships do not stop docking there for good, an Italian news agency, Ansa, reported.

UNESCO on Monday announced that they would discuss the same at their July 16-31 session. The ‘endangered’ tag could be a serious problem for the Italian city.

Venice, suffering from frequent floods, had banned cruise ships from April this year following a request from the UN, according to BBC.

Read more: From bleached corals to overtourism: UN World Heritage sites in danger

The ban came in light of the pollution and carbon footprint cruise ships are responsible for, in addition to the fragile lagoon witnessing erosion.

Another instance pointed out the risk of cruise ships entering the city. A MSC cruise ship crashed into a wharf and tourist boat, injuring 5 people in June 2019, reported The Guardian. The Giudecca canal is reportedly ‘the only way’ for cruise liners to enter Venice.

Following the April ban, large ships were ordered to dock at the Marghera industrial port until the construction of a cruise terminal outside the lagoon.

However, the beginning of June had a rude surprise awaiting the people of Venice. A cruise ship had found its way inside the lagoon despite the ban.

“A long-term solution is urgently needed,’’ said UNESCO. “A solution that will prevent total access to the lagoon, redirecting them to more suitable ports in the area”.

“Putting Venice on the UN endangered list would be a serious problem for our country, and there is no more time to waste. An important step has already been taken with the latest decree, but we must do more and immediately prevent the passage of large ships in the Giudecca canal," said Italian culture minister Dario Franceschini, according to The Guardian.

Dr Fantina Madricardo, specialist in underwater acoustics and geophysics from Venice's ISMAR (Institute of Marine Sciences), explained the risk cruise ships pose towards the ecology of Venice. The ships create ‘depression wakes’ while cruising over the lagoon, said Madricardo, whose colleagues studied 600 such cases from commercial ships sailing from Malamocco to Marghera.

"These generate a sort of wave that propagates over the shores, and the propagation of a big wave resuspends the sediments and erodes the shores and salt marshes close to the channel," she said.

"We've also mapped the sea floor in high resolution, and found there are erosive processes related to the passage of ships in the Malamocco channel.”

"We found they erode the shore close to the Marittima (cruise port) and there are big "scours" that correspond to the place where they anchor”, she was quoted saying by CNN.