Lake Garda Coast Guard Patrol Boat Returns to Boost Safety This Summer
Since yesterday afternoon, precisely at 5 PM, when the Coast Guard’s patrol boat entered the port of Bogliaco 2000, boaters on Lake Garda will have an additional ally.
For any rescue or water rescue operations, in fact, there will be the powerful and swift naval unit of the Coast Guard, also provided for the upcoming summer by the Ministry of Transport and Navigation.
Arrival and stay of the patrol boat
The patrol boat will arrive directly from Adria, an ancient and historic city of the Po Delta, and will remain on Garda until the end of September. Three full months, during which a team of twelve men will be on duty in rotating shifts of three per day.
In the port of Bogliaco 2000, the same harbor that hosted the patrol boat last year, the operational center and the actual nautical base are already ready.
Emergency contact numbers and communication
Meanwhile, we provide two phone numbers that boaters can call in case of actual danger: 1530 or the toll-free number 800.484848, activated by the Garda Community through both landline and mobile phone.
The radio bridges have also been enhanced “to ensure – as noted by the Garda Community’s management – a stronger coverage of the entire lake for communication with the operational center.”
Commitment and restoration of the rescue service
This year as well, the Community has succeeded in the challenging task of bringing the Coast Guard back to Lake Garda.
It was no easy feat because, after the reshuffle of the D’Alema government, as readers will remember, Minister Tiziano Treu was one of the very few to be relocated.
Minister Treu was also the main architect of last year’s deployment of the patrol boat to Bogliaco. The former minister, among other things, owns a villa in Malcesine and is an avid navigator.
Concerns and institutional support
Instead, concerns about the disappearance of the rescue service on Garda dissipated in recent weeks when, thanks to pressure from the Garda Community, the ministry and the Coast Guard Command expressed their willingness to participate.
Moreover, a protocol of understanding was recently signed between the regions of Lombardy and Veneto and the Autonomous Province of Trento.
Costs and benefits of the naval unit
Lombardy will bear a cost of around 60 million lire, similarly Trento and Venice will do the same.
Altogether, the presence of the naval unit and its crew will cost just over 150 million lire. Nothing compared to the enormous benefits for the image of Lake Garda in terms of safety for bathers and boaters.
In fact, nearly 20 million tourists generate an economic impact of about one thousand billion lire, a significant economic return.
Therefore, those 150 million are truly a small sum.
Motives and context of the intervention
The arrival of a powerful and modern Guardia Costiera unit capable of performing rescue operations in any weather condition had been conceived after the tragedy that occurred on August 12 two years ago, which claimed the lives of three British tourists.
That morning, two families of tourists staying in Limone had rented a motorboat from Navitur to take a trip on the lake. But around 5 PM, a violent storm with wind conditions similar to Bali’s, and waves up to five meters high, caused the boat to capsize.