After the “routing” of the Slnc Severn (which disappeared from radar almost nine days ago) and the “empty” docking of the Zim Virginia in Livorno, obtained by workers and activists following the lead of USB, Filt Cgil, and Uiltrasporti in protest of what is happening in Gaza, and after the formal proclamation by Filt Cgil of the “abstention from port operations for commercial traffic to and from Israel”, fear has grown in the Labronico port that the created instability might permanently divert some traffic.
Hence the decision by the extraordinary commissioner of the Port System Authority, Davide Gariglio, to convene a discussion table at Palazzo Rosciano extended to the members of the Partnership Body and local institutions (present were the Prefect Giancarlo Dionisi, the Police Commissioner Giuseppina Stellino, the Mayor of Livorno, Luca Salvetti, the Commander of the Port Authority, Giovanni Canu).
“In such a dramatic moment for the situation in Gaza, the port cluster found the spirit that animated the protests in the city and in the Labronico port to be understandable, but it also stigmatized the methods by which on September 22nd activists blocked the operational area of Molo Italia, preventing the docking of the military ship Slnc Severn, an occupation which, according to those present, exposed citizens to serious risks to personal safety and to criminal consequences, as port areas are subject to special regulations and high operational intensity,” explained a note from the authority.
“The meeting clearly highlighted the necessity to safeguard the port area, an economic space that cannot be violated and whose operations cannot be compromised. For this reason, the will emerged to channel the protest towards solutions that do not jeopardize the port system as a whole. The operational blockade of Zim ships – is the position expressed by those present – risks damaging the port’s image, making it unreliable,” continued the Adsp.
“The members of the Partnership Body shared the intention that the port facility remains accessible from now on to all ships, with the sole exception of possible cases of weapons cargoes to belligerent countries, according to an orientation that is taking shape within the union at the national level.”
The central issue remains of how to distinguish between cargo and cargo. In this regard, the Mayor of Livorno, Luca Salvetti, had previously told SHIPPING ITALY of his intention to act in the Management Committee to discuss with the Adsp the possible publication of the cargo manifests of the ships in question. Gariglio reported that this request was not brought by the mayor to today’s table, which was not a Management Committee anyway, but opened “to its formal consideration in strict legal terms should it be brought up.”
