Nine ferries seized in a few weeks. Three last June 6, six more on June 20. The Guardia di Finanza has seized nine ships from the shipping company Caronte & Tourist. These are boats that serve the Aeolian Islands and Ustica, which therefore run the risk of being isolated. Since yesterday there have been strong inconveniences in maritime connections by ferry to and from the Aeolian Islands. The Laurana and the Paolo Veronesi, the only two ships left available, are unable to guarantee what would have been the connections under normal conditions.
The reasons for the kidnapping
On June 6, three ferries and cash funds were seized by the financiers of the Palermo economic-financial police unit from the shipping company Caronte & Tourist Isole Minori. The seals had been affixed to ferries, retained by the Messina prosecutor's office not compliant with respect to passengers with reduced mobility. That is, disabled, elderly, pregnant women or people with pushchairs. Yesterday, there would be new acquisitions because to reach the figure decided by the magistrate of 29 million euros for the seizure, the first ones were not enough.
The preventive seizure ordered in early June by the investigating judge Maria Militello ("the regional contributions constitute the unfair profit of the crime of fraud"), was in practice the sequel to the "Alto Mare" operation, which already in 2020 had led to the seizure of three other ships of the Messina company. This time, it was the one that ended up under scrutiny regional tender worth 44 million dated 2016 and still in force. According to what was ascertained by the Finance, the ferries would not be suitable for transporting people with reduced mobility, despite this being a requirement guaranteed by the company on the occasion of participation in the regional tender for the Milazzo-Aeolian and Palermo-Ustica lines.
"We will do everything to guarantee the services for the smaller islands using other ships and avoid transport problems in this period, where there are more tourists. We are working to guarantee all the scheduled routes and ensure that there are no inconveniences for users. Already today there will be a first ship in service in the afternoon to guarantee the Trapani Pantelleria route”, declared Caronte & tourist in a note.
Inconvenience in connections to the smaller islands
Meanwhile, continue i inconvenience in connections to the Aeolian Islands. The two remaining ships, the Paolo Veronesi and the Lauretana, make only three departures from the port of Milan. Difficulties are recorded above all in the movement of commercial vehicles, intended to supply the islands' activities: not all, in fact, considering that some were in the queue since yesterday, will be able to leave and there is the risk of deterioration of some of the goods.
Yesterday the Transportation Committee, together with other local associations; in the next few hours, other initiatives will be undertaken to claim the right to mobility and to territorial continuity. The four Aeolian mayors are also pressing the Region and the Ministry of Transport.
