• During the night of Thursday to Friday, a cruise ship left the port of Nice because "it was polluting too much", according to the project manager at the port, Olivier Bettati.

  • According to him, this is the first time in Nice that this kind of measure has been taken for ecology.

The stopover will have been short.

The Greek cruise ship Aegean Odyssey, which had just arrived in the port of Nice on Thursday afternoon and was due to stay for two nights, was asked to leave the premises because of the pollution it was emitting.

“Until now, no one had made this kind of decision in Nice for ecological reasons”, points out Olivier Bettati in charge of the port's transformation mission.

“This 140m boat had kept its engines running for its air conditioning and kitchens,” he continues.

From 6:30 p.m., I received several calls due to the heavy smoke coming from this ferry and spreading all over town.

The only solution was to force him to leave.

He thus asked the harbor master's office to use his maritime police right by invoking "disturbing public order".

"We no longer accept polluting boats in Nice"

At the same time, the project manager contacted the mayor of Nice, specifying the repercussions that this action could generate, in particular legal consequences.

"Christian Estrosi said to me: 'Ok, go for it'", he says, pointing out that the CCI, also the manager of the premises, has also given its agreement.

This Friday morning, the shipowner had already sent a letter asking for explanations and indicating the costs that this decision cost the company.

“Too bad, exclaims the Niçois.

At some point, you have to make decisions.

This ferry is blacklisted from the port and that will make it clear that we no longer accept polluting boats, that will do the trick.

This is called political will.

»

The ship cast off around midnight in the direction of Toulon with its approximately 300 passengers.

"There, the boat will be able to plug in and cut its engines because the port is equipped," says Olivier Bettati.

Before adding: “This is the perfect example that demonstrates the importance of electrifying our docks as quickly as possible.

This will be done very soon with the transformation of the port”.

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