Rome - An Italian consumer group said on Sunday it will call for an investigation into reports that a large cruise ship sailed dangerously close to Venice in a “salute” manoeuvre similar to the one which caused a deadly shipwreck in 2012.
“We will ask the public prosecutor's office... to open an investigation for violation of transport security and risk of shipwreck,” the head of Italy's consumer group Codacons, Carlo Rienzi, said in a statement, adding that the request for a probe would be officially submitted on Monday.
Witnesses sitting in cafes along the shore near St Mark's square raised the alarm after Carnival Sunshine, a 272-metre long liner, appeared to sail unusually close to the shoreline as it passed through Venice's lagoon on Saturday.
They insist the cruise ship came within 20 metres of the shore and submitted video evidence filmed on their mobile phones to the city's environment councillor Gianfranco Bettin, sparking outrage among long-time campaigners opposed to the floating behemoths in Venice.
The Sunshine was accused of performing a “salute” to shipowner Carnival's chairman Micky Arison, whose yacht was reportedly docked nearby.
“The accusation is utterly false. The ship passed 72 metres from the shore, following a pre-set route and well within the limits allowed,” Italian media reported Carnival as saying, adding that the vessel's black box had been checked to verify the distance.
Codacons said the Sunshine incident was just the latest in a string of problems with the towering cruise liners, which are blamed by many for polluting the lagoon and damaging the foundations of ancient buildings in the city of canals.
Rienzi said his group would ask magistrates “to seize all cruise ships which carry out 'salute' manoeuvres and pass just metres away from the shore.”
Bettin agreed, saying “such risks cannot be taken. The Sunshine is three metres longer than the Titanic. Whether it was a 'salute' or an error makes no difference.”
The practice of sailing close to the shore to please tourists on board or to show off, strikes a nerve in Italy after the Costa Concordia cruise ship - which is also owned by Carnival - hit rocks last year while performing a “salute” and sank off the Tuscan coast.
Captain Francesco Schettino, who was behind the wheel at the time, is currently on trial for multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship after the nighttime tragedy in which 32 people died. - Sapa-AFP