A YouTube video has emerged showing a cruise ship coming dangerously close to crashing into the dock at Venice during a severe storm.
In the YouTube video, the 3,000-passenger Costa Deliziosa can be heard sounding its emergency horn as it is guided to the dock by tug boats along the Giudecca Canal during the storm, narrowly missing a luxury yacht.
The near-miss has fuelled the debate over allowing mega liners into the canal and follows last month’s incident when MSC Opera crashed into a Uniworld river boat, injuring four people.
One witness, Alberto Peratoner, told the Ansa news agency: "We saw her coming almost on top of us. It was the moment when the storm was at its most intense.
"The ship was having visible difficulty manoeuvring and was heading for the Riva San Biagio dock, veering slightly towards the Riva dei Sette Martiri."
The agency said a collision was only averted when one of the tugs pulled heavily to the right, away from the shore, and managed to drag the liner with it.
Venezia Autentica, a group that encourages tourists to discover and support the authentic Venice, posted the video on its Facebook page saying: "Tonight in #Venice, we’ve been all very, very, very lucky.
"A cruise ship was allowed to take off from the Venice Port despite a huge storm approaching the city.
"Just after Saint Mark’s square, the intensity of the wind pushed the cruise ship dangerously close to the Riva dei Sette Martiri. Luckily, a collision was avoided this time.
"Are we waiting for a tragedy to happen before something changes? What the hell!"
Costa described the incident as a ‘detour’ caused by ‘violent, extraordinary and sudden’ bad weather.
"The captain always maintained control of the ship even in conditions of extreme and sudden difficulty," the cruise line said.
The city’s public prosecutor’s office told Ansa it is looking into the incident.
