There has often been talk even in less recent times about maritime transport and motorways of the sea applied to the Gulf of La Spezia and the Levantine Riviera, both for its particular and fortunate half-moon shape and to respond to the increasingly significant influx of tourists who travel from one location to another and to address the issue from an environmental point of view, in search of technologically innovative solutions. Certainly historical and still current themes for the provincial reality of La Spezia which stimulated the organizers of the seminar entitled ‘Prospects and development of sea transport: the possible green revolution for the Gulf and the Riviera’. Institutions, designers and professionals met in the university premises of the military Arsenal tower, organized by the Ligurian Marine Technologies District together with Promostudi and the La Spezia section of Atena. “We expect a concrete and achievable proposal in the medium to short term – explains the president of the Dltm Lorenzo Forcieri at the opening of the conference – for the connections of a vast area starting from Versilia and reaching the Bracco pass. Connections within the area itself and with the outside, for tourists but also for those who live in this maxi-area. We have to think more and more about a vast area because from Tigullio to Versilia passing through the Magra and Vara valleys there is also an economic unicum. La Spezia and its gulf represent the center of this area. That is, realizing a new and different development of our territory and I believe that Promostudi can give us a big hand in this sense. An attempt was made in 2006 but no response was found. We need to think beyond administrative divisions, thinking of a model different from the past. Let’s try to give a push in this direction.” In agreement with Forcieri, councilor Patrizia Saccone, who among her delegations also has that of the University, confirms the centrality of the capital city of a larger area, insisting “on the desire of the Municipality of La Spezia to invest in research, training, urban planning and infrastructures”.
An opportunity created to delve deeper into the topic and answer questions on development prospects, taking into account an increasingly less elusive green vocation. Also at the conference was Marco Ferrando, director of the University Campus of La Spezia who completed the round of institutional greetings before Admiral Claudio Boccalatte, president of Atena La Spezia introduced the heart of the conference: “That sea transport has a lesser impact than , for example on the bus, is well known. We don’t have the numbers and needs of the Strait of Messina, as well as the Tuscan islands or those of the Venice lagoon or the Campania system but it’s right to think about it. Think about it in order to clear those roads that are no longer sufficient to contain today’s car flows. Hence the idea of putting together projects that could also be compatible for particular areas such as marine protected areas”. And since we are talking about a vast area, Giovanni Stagnaro, mayor of Casarza Ligure, speaks, ideally, on behalf of Tigullio: “Tigullio is a land of the sea. We truly believe that collaboration with La Spezia, the Gulf and the Liguria Region is fundamental. Here we created the Smart Club to try to give students the opportunity to have continuous training”.
Rudy Biassoli is the president of the “Cinque Terre Golfo dei Poeti” maritime consortium. A voice certainly accredited to talk about maritime passenger transport in this area. If you look closely, this area is already vast: “Our lines start from Viareggio, also go up from Marina di Massa and Marina di Carrara and arrive in Moneglia passing through the Cinque Terre, the Gulf with Palmaria. Over the years we have tried to create a solid and sustainable consortium with a program of days and times designed based on flows. We provide port services, as well as tourist services and scheduled summer services within the municipalities of Porto Venere and Lerici. It would be wonderful to have stops at Canaletto or Panigaglia but in many places there are no platforms just as it would be suggestive to have a circular connection but there is a problem of economic sustainability”. Then the choices: “We renewed the Albatros for a whole series of reasons: it carries up to over 600 people, consumes little diesel, creates little wave, even if it has its navigability problems in some areas where we operate such as in the Cinque Terre. In addition to the Albatros we have invested in the improvement of all the boats. In our reference sector we are among the first in Italy for the number of boats and people handled. We care about safety as well as the environment: every technology chosen must be tested and certified. Black water, paints, detergents, we tried to think about all the aspects. And in some cases we have replaced entire boats, in others the engines of various vehicles (trying to stay under six years) and we will continue to do so in the coming years. It is certainly significant for us to have done all this by obtaining ISO 14001 certification in 2020 and 2024.” Then on to the BIIM, an innovative modular hybrid boat that combines diesel with electric, a case study “that thrilled us especially when thinking about what will happen in the coming years. It is a path that we are following with great attention but there are many aspects to resolve, from the positioning of the battery charging stations to the lack of bunkering areas”. Things that will have to be sorted out to give the project legs: “Nevertheless, it’s fine for people to talk about it,” concludes Biassoli.
Claudio Valerani is an Amp official at the Cinque Terre National Park and brings the Amp’s urgencies to the conference: “From our acoustic monitoring campaigns we have detected a very high impact of acoustic emissions on the habitat. In summer obviously much more than in winter because the flows on land but also at sea change. We have studied and found that sound also reduces the effectiveness of fish vocalizations, compromising their reproductive activity. The acoustic stress begins in the morning and ends at sunset, there is little left for them. Mitigation actions are therefore necessary. We started photographing the emissions of boats and started researching new propulsion technologies and possible electrification strategies. The electric columns we are installing in Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso will soon be active. As a Park we have tried to set an example by equipping ourselves with fully electric boats but there are also several entrepreneurs who have equipped themselves with hybrid propulsion boats”. The truly great challenge is what will be the first Ztl Marina in Italy in 2025: “Here navigation will be possible in electric or hybrid mode only and will include endothermic access corridors to the marinas”.
