ROME—A cruise ship company says their vessel came close to smashing against a yacht in the Venice lagoon amid stormy weather.
The ship Costa Deliziosa was leaving Venice port on July 7 when it was caught in strong wind and hail, and tug boats struggled as they tried to pull it away from the yacht.
In a statement released by the Port of Venice, Pino Musolino, the president of the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority, said that the ship will be checked for necessary permits, Euronews reported.
➡ Dichiarazione completa del Presidente dell’Autorità di Sistema @PinoMusolino rispetto all’uscita dal Porto della Costa Deliziosa oggi in condizioni meteo-marine avverse⏬ pic.twitter.com/q0DBNHcnuf
— Port of Venice (@PortOfVenice) July 7, 2019
Costa Crociere, the company that owns the ship, said Sunday “violent and sudden” gusts of wind hit the ship as it was passing the Venice canal.
It said the “port pilot and the three tugs to which the ship was tied promptly assisted it in the maneuver.”
“In a near-miss captured on video by YouTube user Roberto Ferrucci, the Costa Deliziosa, a 12-deck cruise ship with capacity for near 3,000 people, can be seen swerving alarmingly close to land and other boats in the middle of a thunderstorm while sounding its long emergency horn,” the Local reported.
A cruise ship appeared to veer close to a Venice esplanade on Sunday amid stormy weather. https://t.co/Rve1LoJ3Pb pic.twitter.com/eXUw3pA8BG
— euronews (@euronews) July 8, 2019
“We saw her coming almost on top of us,” one witness, Alberto Peratoner, told Italian news agency Ansa.
The incident came just weeks after a massive cruise ship crashed into small riverboat in Venice’s busy Giudecca Canal, wounding five.
The ship has resumed its course to southern Italy.
A cruise ship veered very close to the esplanade when it passed through a canal in Venice during stormy weather on Sunday.
The incident sparked, yet again, a discussion about overtourism and safety for large cruises moving through Venice’s canals. https://t.co/iny1SSI0ON
— euronews (@euronews) July 8, 2019
Citizens Voice Their Concerns
With the hashtag #NoGrandiNavi, locals posted their concerns on social media.
Becky Vowles wrote on Twitter: “Please everyone stop being so irresponsible as to book trips on these monstrous ships. Get the train to Venice.”
Please everyone stop being so irresponsible as to book trips on these monstrous ships. Get the train to Venice and you get the fabulous experience seeing Venice open up before you without destroying it on the way. #nograndinavi #loveveniceresponsibly https://t.co/b1AosClZNm
— Becky Vowles (@redcelia) July 7, 2019
The Associated Press and NTD News staff contributed to this article.