UN agency calls for Venice ban on big liners

A UN agency wants big ships banned from Venice. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has called on the Italian government to restrict access of large cruise ships to culturally and ecologically important areas, particularly Venice’s saltwater lagoon.

The request was prompted by the Costa Concordia accident, which is seeing oil spill into the pristine waters of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park.

In a letter to the Italian environment minister, UNESCO assistant director-general for culture, Francesco Bandarin, said, "The tragic accident reinforces longstanding concern over the risk that large cruise liners pose to sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list, particularly the Venetian Lagoon and the Basin of San Marco."

The letter urges the government to "act quickly to develop alternative plans for maritime traffic around the World Heritage site of Venice."

Cruise ship traffic in Venice is particularly damaging, the agency said, because of the fragile structure of the city. The ships cause waves that erode the foundations of buildings.

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