The transport ministry on Tuesday
asked the Adriatic Port System Authority and the Venice harbour
master's office to report on Sunday night's near miss by a
cruise liner in the lagoon city, when a Costa Crociere ship
almost crashed into a yacht and the dock near St Mark's in a
gale and hailstorm.
Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli requested an "immediate
inquiry" into the narrowly averted disaster in Riva Sette
Martiri.
Toninelli said he was fed up with "insults" from Venice Mayor
Luigi Brugnaro and did that the cruise ships would never be
moved to the port of Marghera.
Brugnaro, a centre-right independent, on Monday blamed
Toninelli for the incident.
"The biggest responsibility for what happened yesterday is
and for what may happen in the future is on the part of he who
did not take a decision in the last few months," Brugnaro said
referring to Toninelli's alleged failure to ban the huge liners
that ply the waters very close to Venice.
Toninelli retorted: "Brugnaro as usual is talking nonsense.
"After years of inertia also on the part of those on his
political side, we are close to a serious solution to put the
big ships outside Venice.
"Marghera is a terrible option due to safety and
environmental concerns, and we'll convince UNESCO of that too.
There was a summit of Venice prosecutors and the harbour
master's office later Monday.
As a formality, prosecutor Andrea Pedroni will open a probe
against person or persons unknown, judicial sources said.
The centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) called
Toninelli "the minister of disasters who has paralysed one of
the most strategic ministries for the country's growth".
PD Senator Andrea Ferrazzi, PD leader on the House
environment committee, said "a disaster was averted by a hairs'
breadth yesterday".
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