Palazzo San Giorgio, headquarters of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority, provided the spectacular backdrop to the ceremony marking a change of command at the helm of the Liguria Maritime Authority and of the Port of Genoa, with the handover from outgoing Admiral Nicola Carlone to the newly appointed Rear Admiral Sergio Liardo.
The official ceremony was attended by distinguished members of the local and national public and military authorities, together with the shipping community. Admiral Carlone, after 3 and a half years in Genoa, handed over the command of Italy's most important Maritime Authority to Rear Admiral Liardo who, to date, had served as Commander of the Third Planning and Operations Department at the Headquarters of the Italian Coast Guards in Rome.
Admiral Carlone, in his farewell speech, recalled the unprecedented challenges faced by the Liguria Coast Guards under his command, from the tragic collapse of the Morandi Bridge on 14 August 2018 to the violent seastorms which ravaged the coastline in October 2018, and finally to the global pandemic still underway. A sincere thanks was extended to all the local authorities, including the Port Authority President, Paolo Emilio Signorini, for the invaluable cooperation and support provided in these difficult times and for having hosted the ceremony in the monumental room of Sala delle Compere in Palazzo San Giorgio, historic landmark building of the City and of the Port of Genoa.
The change of command ceremony was presided over by the Commander General of the Italian Port Coast Guards, Admiral Giovanni Pettorino, who had served previously as Admiral of the Port of Genoa and between 2015 and 2016 also as State Commissioner of the Port Authority of Genoa.
