Cruise ship restrictions in the French Riviera have been finalised, following the announcement of new measures by the Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes and the Maritime Prefect of the Mediterranean.
The ports of Nice, Cannes and Villefranche, which share the Bay of Cannes, have been at odds over cruise regulations in recent months. Both Cannes and Nice had issued their own cruise ship restrictions earlier this year which were later deemed unconstitutional.
The updated restrictions for cruise ships disembarking passengers in the Alpes-Maritimes department include:
- Passenger disembarkation volume is limited to an annual average of 2 000 passengers disembarked per port of call, with a maximum limit of 3 000 passengers per port of call.
- Calls per port are limited to one per day for ships with more than 1 300 passengers. Stricter limits will be in place in July and August, with a maximum of 15 ships per month.
- In the event of a pollution peak, further limits may be introduced
- Ships of cruise companies adhering to the ‘Sustainable Cruise in the Mediterranean’ charter are given priority for stopover authorisation.
These measures will be formalised through a prefectural decree, which will undergo a 21-day electronic public consultation before being implemented.
