The picturesque playground for the famous and rich on the Italian Riviera, Portofino, could be at risk of Costa Concordia disaster as new regulations enabled large cruise ships to come closer to shore, environmentalists warned.
Italy’s largest environmental group, Legambiente, said new Coast Guard regulations would allow luxury cruise vessels to come as close as 0,3 nautical miles to Ligurian coast instead of 0,7 nautical miles.
Portofino is the latest target for the organisation, which has tried to restrict luxury cruise ship access in Venice claiming they threaten to damage the fragile ecosystem of the lagoon.
Environmentalists also feared that a luxury cruise liner could run aground like Costa Concordia in 2012. 32 were killed when Costa Concordia struck rocks close to Giglio in January 2012 in Italy’s worst maritime disaster.
Portofino is a small resort town and a long-time favorite among Hollywood's A-list.