Shoreline retreat as an effect of ship wakes was studied in a navigation channel of the industrial port of Venice, Italy: the Malamocco-Marghera Channel. The investigation revealed unprecedented erosion rates, up to 4 m y , that determined a total loss of about 1.2 million of m of soil in the period 1970-2015. This interaction between navigation and the channel margins must be considered in order to understand the past evolution of the central Venice Lagoon and for a sustainable management of the port traffic in the future sea-level rise scenario