A three-way meeting between the regional councilor for Transport Barbara Manca, the mayor of Santa Teresa Gallura Nadia Matta and the mayor of Bonifacio Jean-Charles Orsucci to address the "urgent issue" of the maritime connection between Sardinia and Corsica.
"Bonifacio-Santa Teresa di Gallura is a fundamental maritime connection ", the councilor reiterated during the summit. Adding: "For this reason, the Sardinia Region has been committed for a long time to guaranteeing coverage of the route by imposing public service obligations . Unfortunately, the interruption of the service by the winning operator is causing serious inconvenience to passengers and truck drivers who need stable connections between the two islands and this is a very serious fact that we have already publicly denounced, also fearing possible sanctions such as early termination of the contract".
The mayors of the two cities separated by the Straits have asked the Sardinia Region for the "maximum possible effort" to protect the route and have agreed with Councilor Manca on the need for a " strong joint commitment by the two regions to find not only a solution to the current emergency, but also a more structural one for the coming years."
"There are currently two needs," observes the member of the Todde Council, "the first is to restore the connection. The strongest hypothesis on the table is to ask the international authorities for a derogation that would also allow other types of ships, currently lacking the necessary international certification, to serve this route . I would like to remind you that the connection in question requires ferries equipped not only with all the aforementioned certifications, but also with small dimensions to be able to enter the small ports involved. We are talking about an international connection with many fewer miles to sail than those required by many other national connections. The time has come to take these particular specificities into account."
"We must then make - concluded Manca - a long-term reasoning, as I reiterated to the mayors of Bonifacio and Santa Teresa di Gallura. To do this , it is essential that the two regions talk to each other and work together in a synergic way for a structural solution that guarantees stable and efficient connections. I am sure that both we and the courses will do the best we can to achieve this goal".
(Online Union)
