The intrepid JoAnn Locktov, a lover of all things Venetian, a publisher of three books on that Italian city and a well-respected publicist for the design community, recently stepped away from her communications business. Her new venture is called Portland Cruise Control, and it’s based in Portland, Maine. It’s a community organization committed to understanding all aspects of cruise tourism in Portland: educating the community, studying the human and environmental impacts, and finding solutions to mitigate the negative consequences of cruise ships. A+A recently interviewed her via email:

Your background in communications for the design community?

After writing a book on contemporary mosaics, I was hired by a Venetian mosaic artist to represent his newly built pensione and mosaic school in Venice. That was the beginning of an 18-year career, working with Italian and American artisans and architects as a publicist, sharing their stories with the international press. I dedicated my practice to the design I love most, and just like a mosaic, all the beautiful pieces fell into place.

It was a shock to me that Venice took such a dramatic hold on my psyche. I first visited on vacation and knew immediately I needed to find a way to integrate the city into my life. It took 10 years, but it eventually happened. The city speaks to me in an unfathomable way, the stones, the light, the ghetto, the glass, the culture, the heritage, the delicious crustaceans of the Lagoon. It felt like home from that first glimpse and there is no rational explanation for that.

I’ve explored Venetian culture, so that I could understand and support a civilization that is becoming obsolete. I worked with artisans, wrote opinion pieces and art reviews, interviewed photographers, writers, and activists, and published a trilogy of books about Venice.

Your involvement to restrain cruise ships in the lagoon?

The cruise ships in Venice were an intolerable menace. They damaged the ancient foundations, caused terrible pollution, and exacerbated the problem of over-tourism. They delivered more harm than good. I had a strong voice on social media and an engaged following of Venetophiles and used my influence to educate, fundraise and advocate for the cruise ships to leave the historic center of the city and the Lagoon.

Why did you do that? Could it have cost you professionally?

You are probably referring to my public battle with Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice. I asked him about the issues of mass tourism in Venice and he promptly resorted to name-calling and blocking me on Twitter.  Contrary to costing me professionally, I think standing up for the community I was supporting and being blocked by a mayor who is ruinous for Venice was a badge of honor. At that point I was in the process of publishing books on Venice and my commitment to the city and her inhabitants was clearly evident.

What is Portland Cruise Control?

Portland Cruise Control is a group of volunteers who are committed to understanding all aspects of cruise tourism, educating our community, studying the human and environmental impacts and finding solutions to mitigate the negative consequences of cruise ships.

How did you get involved?

After the pandemic, the cruise ships returned to Portland with a vengeance. I saw that each year there were increasing numbers of ships, with more passengers, and the ships were getting larger. I’ve witnessed what cruise ships can do to a historic port city. I started asking questions and spent a year researching the scientific data around marine pollution, and port and state regulations. I realized that if we didn’t start acknowledging the consequences of cruise ships, they would grow their presence unfettered by any awareness. Through sheer luck I connected with two other Portland residents, Matthew Day and Maggy Wolf. They also had been researching, asking questions, and trying to find answers. We decided to see if there were others in Portland equally concerned and organized ourselves into a grassroots group of volunteers.

The organization’s goals?

We are interested in finding the answers to numerous questions about the finances of hosting cruise ships, accurate emissions, fuel and scrubber use. We want to raise awareness in Portland about cruise ships regarding their air and water pollution and financial and cultural costs. It is important that we propose solutions to mitigate the harm and have submitted a Scrubber Wash Discharge Ban to the city.

We’re also working on a communications protocol for when ships are experiencing a norovirus outbreak. We feel that the entire cruise ship discussion must be viewed in context, and we are working to be proactive and provide the necessary context.

What kind of support has it been met with?

We’ve been delighted with the participation of residents who want to be involved. We’ve received endorsements from leading national environmental organizations at the forefront of holding the cruise industry accountable. They understand that it is imperative to work on a local level to challenge the conversation around cruise tourism and use the tools that we have available to reduce the environmental consequences.

For more, go here.