Venice Residents Take to the Streets to Protest Cruise Lines

On Saturday, Residents of Venice, Italy continued their long-running call for a cessation or reduction of cruise activity in the city’s waters, taking to the streets by the thousands to raise their voice against the companies.

Image Courtesy Forbes

The protest comes in light of a collision between a cruise ship and a river boat six days ago, which left five people injured. Though the incident served as a catalyst for the most recent round of protests, it was not the reason area residents originally began to protest the cruise lines. For years Venetians have been protesting against cruise ships calling on the area, claiming that the cruise activity is damaging local culture and the local environment.

Many of the protesters are upset that cruise ships travel through the delicate Venetian Lagoon. USAToday.com reports that some protesters carried signs saying “Ships out of the lagoon” to show their displeasure. Even Venice’s mayor has sided with preventing the ships from entering the heart of the lagoon.

Venice’s cruise ship collision was the second such incident in just a few days’ time. On May 29, The Viking Sigyn cruise ship ran into a much smaller tourist boat in Budapest, Hungary. The smaller vessel was pushed under the water, causing significant loss of life. As of the latest report 17 people have been declared dead, while another 11 remain missing. 7 people survived the incident.