A cruise ship was asked to leave the port of Nice a few hours after its arrival on Thursday, following complaints from residents about the fumes it was emitting, the city authorities said on Friday June 17.
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Following a decision taken by the harbor master's office, the 140-metre vessel carrying 300 passengers, the Aegan Odyssey, chartered by the eponymous Greek shipowner, received a summons to leave the port on Thursday at 11 p.m., which he done within the hour.
This decision, taken by the harbor master's office with the backing of the municipal authorities, was taken under port police law, of which only the captain of a harbor is the depositary.
The “
reputation
” of the company affected
"
I was alerted by local residents around 7:00 p.m. following the smoke given off by this boat and the noise made by its machines
", explains Olivier Bettati, president of the "
Mission port
".
This municipal entity, in charge of a redevelopment project for the port of Nice, coordinated the operations to evict the ship.
“
Only the port captain had the possibility of forcing the boat to leave the port for disturbing public order, but he needed the approval of the politicians, which was given by the mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi
”, adds Olivier Bettati.
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In a letter that AFP was able to consult, the maritime agent Medov France, based in Marseilles, in charge of the stopovers of this ship on behalf of a charter company, asked for explanations from the port authorities on this decision, indicating in particular that it harmed the "
reputation
" of the company.
The ship arrived Friday in the port of La Seyne, in the harbor of Toulon, indicated a representative of this stopover agent.
Mediterranean ports, particularly that of Marseilles, have been dealing with the problem of pollution from cruise ships for several years, which also represent a major source of income for the local economy.
