PRESS RELEASE
Concerning yesterday’s event on Riva Sette Martiri, which saw as its main character a cruise ship in trouble due to a storm that hit the city, Mr. Luigi Brugnaro, Mayor of Venice, has released the following statement:
"Surely yesterday's episode occurred under exceptional weather and sea conditions. Thecompetent authorities will clarify what happened. First of all, I wish to congratulate all maritime personnel who, in the various danger situations, has confronted all adversities with great skill. And I specifically thank the pilots and crews of the vaporettiand of the ACTV ferry-boat. I am also heartily thankful to the tugboat pilots and crews, to the Police Force, and to all the boats on the water surface at that very moment.
Besides, the greatest responsibility for what happened yesterday, and for what mighthappen in the future, must be attributed to those who have not decided during these last months. Our reference goes to the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Danilo Toninelli, holding functional powers over the entire port system, from Port Authority to Coast Guard, from Public Works Department to the Port System Authority.
Time has run out. We cannot wait any longer. We are furious. We have had enough ofships sailing past St. Mark’s and along the Giudecca Canal. Minister Toninelli, do comeas soon as possible to report to the city’sinstitutions the results of the umpteenth inspection you have commissioned. I hope this will be the occasion in which, finally, after waiting for a year, the Minister will sit at the table with Municipality and Region to talk and reason about "big ships", humbly and without ideological and political prejudices.
The solution exists right now. It calls itself“water route from the mouth of the Porto di Malamocco, through the Canale dei Petroli, via Canale Vittorio Emanuele to the Marittimafor smaller vessels, and destination Marghera, North side of the North channel, for larger ships. The Vittorio Emanuele can be dredged in about a year, with private financing, attending in the meanwhilealternative, lengthier projects that need at least 5/10 years to be completed. UNESCO itself has expressed its appreciation for this solution.
Dear Minister, how long must we wait? How much longer will you be deaf to the requests by the international community and by the city’s institutions, only to heed the no-nocommittees and the notorious exploiters ofthe issue, that have prevented for years any solution? How many cost-benefit studies and surveys will you need before reaching a solution? Why are you still undecided? An entire city and thousands of workers deserving institutional respect are awaitingyour immediate reply".
Venice, 8 July 2019
