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Italian Riviera bid to ban anchoring
In a bid to stop the negative impact of yachts on marine fauna, the Liguria government has put forward a proposal to prevent yachts anchoring on the Italian Riviera.
The proposal suggests extending the current ban in Portofino to 26 other sites along the coastline to prevent further damage to sensitive sea grass and marine life in the area.
Currently, authorities are examining the possibility of laying buoys for overnight stays and prohibiting boats any larger than five metres from anchoring.
On a more welcome note for superyacht owners, the current luxury tax levied in Italian ports on yachts over 60 metres is set to be scrapped.
Sardinia Governor Ugo Cappellacci is also looking to abolish the tax levied on boats over 14 metres as it has drastically reduced super yachts from stopping on the island.
Understandable when considering the tax is almost 50 times higher than that in nearby Corsica, Greece and Croatia.
"the ban would affect one of the world’s most popular cruising grounds and halt anchoring from France to Tuscany."