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They’re baaack: Flickr photo of the day

Once again, behemoth cruise ships are prowling the Venetian Lagoon. (It just isn’t the same as being serenaded by a stripe-shirted gondolier.) The ships slide slowly past Saint Mark’s Square on their way to Venice’s cruise ship terminal. It’s a perk for the excited passengers looking forward to experiencing the picturesque charm of Venice that some say their mother ships are ruining.

A regional court has overturned a law passed last November that banned giant cruise ships in response to the Costa Concordia’s disastrous grounding the year before. While showing off for tourists on shore, captain Francesco Schettino ran his 114,000-ton ship aground, costing the lives of 32 of his passengers and causing an environmental nightmare. Venetian officials are understandably worried that something similar could happen again, so this coming June they will present the court with alternative routes for ships to use.

Brian Huang photographed the 140,000-ton, 1,000-foot-long MSC Divina in the Venice lagoon.          

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