Giant cruise ships return to Venice canals following crash with smaller boat that injured five 

A massive cruise ship has returned to Venice’s canals despite protests from thousands of locals demanding they be banned following a crash with a small river boat which saw five people injured. 

The MSC Magnifica, which can hold up to 3,605 passengers, was seen cruising down the Giudecca Canal in Venice today, exactly one week after the MSC Opera crashed into a small tourist boat and injured five people in the same place. 

Thousands of locals took to the streets yesterday brandishing posters that read ‘Ships out of the lagoon’.

A massive cruise ship has returned to Venice’s canals despite protests from thousands of locals demanding they be banned following a crash with a small river boat which saw five people injured

The MSC Magnifica, which can hold up to 3,605 passengers, was seen cruising down the Giudecca Canal in Venice today, exactly one week after the MSC Opera crashed into a small tourist boat and injured five people in the same place

The MSC Magnifica, which can hold up to 3,605 passengers, was seen cruising down the Giudecca Canal in Venice today, exactly one week after the MSC Opera crashed into a small tourist boat and injured five people in the same place

Thousands of locals took to the streets and canals yesterday to protest against cruise ships being allowed to travel through Venice's canals

Thousands of locals took to the streets and canals yesterday to protest against cruise ships being allowed to travel through Venice’s canals

Environmentalists have complained huge cruise liners wear down the city’s fragile foundations in the Adriatic Sea and dredge up the lagoon’s muddy bottom.

Venice’s mayor wants cruise ships rerouted from the heart of the lagoon. The ships disembark thousands of day-trippers.

Last weeks crash saw four female tourists – an American, a New Zealander and two Australians between the ages of 67 and 72 – injured falling or trying to run away when the cruise ship rammed into the tourist boat.

MSC Cruises said the 2,679-passengers onboard the 177-ft high and 902-ft long long liner, which dwarfed the Venice skyline, were approaching the terminal when the ship hit the dock after a technical problem.

Four female tourists, an American, a New Zealander and two Australians, were among those injured in the horror crash on Sunday

Four female tourists, an American, a New Zealander and two Australians, were among those injured in the horror crash on Sunday

Passengers topple from the the luxury MSC Opera cruise liner

Spectators watch in horror as passengers topple over the cruise ship

The passengers are seen toppling from the the river boat during the crash after it collided with the enormous cruise ship

The collision came days after seven people were killed and 21 remain missing after the Mermaid, a sightseeing boat, capsized on the River Danube in Budapest, Hungary.

The cruise ship’s owner, MSC Cruises, said the ship, the MSC Opera, was about to dock at a passenger terminal when it had a mechanical problem.

The ship then appeared to lose control after a steel cable that tied it to a tugboat snapped.

Two towboats guiding the cruise ship into Venice tried to stop the massive cruise ship, but they were unable to prevent it from ramming into the small and powerless river boat.

Venice environmentalists have long complained that cruise ships displace water, wear down fragile foundations, cause air pollution and damage the delicate lagoon environment by dredging up the muddy bottom

Venice environmentalists have long complained that cruise ships displace water, wear down fragile foundations, cause air pollution and damage the delicate lagoon environment by dredging up the muddy bottom

Venice's mayor wants cruise ships rerouted from the heart of the lagoon. The ships disembark thousands of day-trippers

Venice’s mayor wants cruise ships rerouted from the heart of the lagoon. The ships disembark thousands of day-trippers 

President of a towboat association in Venice, Davide Calderan, told the Italian news agency ANSA: ‘The two towboats tried to stop the giant and then a tow cable broke, cut by the collision with the river boat.’

Mr Calderan said the cruise ship’s engine was locked when the captain called for help.

Following the accident, Italian firefighters were deployed to the scene as shocked spectators watched on in horror from the dock.

Elisabetta Pasqualin was watering plants on her terrace when she heard warning sirens and stepped out to see the crash.

‘There was this huge ship in a diagonal position in the Giudecca Canal, with a tugboat near which seemed like it couldn’t do anything,’ she said.

She described the ship ‘advancing slowly but inevitably towards the dock.’

She said: ‘The bow of the ship crashed hard into the bank with its massive weight crushing a big piece of it. Sirens were wailing loudly; it was a very dramatic scene.’

The international cruise ship line with its headquarters in Geneva, says its ship, the MSC Opera, experienced a mechanical problem as it was docking at a passenger terminal and says it is cooperating with authorities to figure out what happened.

Last weeks crash saw four female tourists - an American, a New Zealander and two Australians between the ages of 67 and 72 - injured falling or trying to run away when the cruise ship rammed into the tourist boat

Last weeks crash saw four female tourists – an American, a New Zealander and two Australians between the ages of 67 and 72 – injured falling or trying to run away when the cruise ship rammed into the tourist boat 

MSC Cruises said the 2,679-passengers onboard the 177-ft high and 902-ft long long liner, which dwarfed the Venice skyline, were approaching the terminal when the ship hit the dock after a technical problem

MSC Cruises said the 2,679-passengers onboard the 177-ft high and 902-ft long long liner, which dwarfed the Venice skyline, were approaching the terminal when the ship hit the dock after a technical problem 

The incident has now reignited calls to ban cruise ships in Venice which have been a source of contention in the over-extended tourist city.

Danilo Toninelli, Italy’s transport minister, said ‘today’s accident in the port of Venice proves that cruise ships shouldn’t be allowed to pass down the Giudecca anymore.’

He added: ‘After many years of inertia, we are finally close to a solution to protect both the lagoon and tourism.’

The MSC Opera was built in 2004 and can carry over 2,675 passengers in 1,071 cabins.

According to its sailing schedule, the cruise ship left Venice on May 26 and travelled to Kotor, Montenegro, and Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu in Greece before returning on Sunday to the popular tourist destination of Venice.

Shortly after the crash, members of the city’s ‘No Big Ships’ Committee were seen standing next to the MSC Opera cruise ship and staging a protest against large cruise boats that sail close to the shore in the area.

Campaigners of the ‘No Grandi Navi’ movement have long since argued that cruise ships in the area damage the iconic city’s ecosystem and disturb the ancient city’s buildings.

The crash comes days after seven people were killed and 21 remain missing after the Mermaid, a sightseeing boat which had 35 people onboard, including 33 South Korean tourists, capsized in just seven seconds on the River Danube in Budapest on May 29.

Following the tragedy in Hungary, officials said there was a slim chance of locating the missing people after the sightseeing boat, sank almost instantly upon impact with a cruise ship called the Viking Sigyn outside the Hungarian Parliament building.

The captain of the Viking Sigyn, identified only as Yuriy C, 64, was taken in by police following the Danube tragedy, after authorities suspected him of ‘endangering water transport leading to a deadly mass accident’.

19 South Koreans are still among the 21 missing.          

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