On-board equipment, first aid, overseas vessels. What needs to change in 2025

There is a treasure, we will never tire of repeating, that is worth billions and that our country has yet to figure out how to make the most of. It is nautical tourism, in all its forms.

Nautical tourism 2025, what to do

In 2024, although undoubted steps forward have been taken(nautical license, eco-incentives…) the world of boats (and of all those who benefit from boats, at every level) is still burdened, above all, by endemic vices. Beginning with a slow and complex bureaucracy, byzantine laws, asphyxiating obligations, excessive charges, inadequate, expensive and elitist landings, constant sea controls, and poor services. So let’s come up with some ideas, suggestions (in some cases, advice) to improve the industry by making boating (and nautical tourism) more efficient and accessible to an ever-widening public.

In multiple installments, theme after theme we will dissect problems and proposals to solve them for the 2025 beginning.

After dealing with the still-standing professional skipper title, telematic boat registry, end-of-life boats, tourist ports and marine protected areas , and talking to you about foreign-flag registrations and what can still be done to improve the Italian boating license, today we deal with regional laws, endowments and the age-old problem of foreign boats.

Regions: resource for boating

We do not necessarily need national laws to help the development of recreational boating. Virtuous examples can also come from the regions. As did Friuli Venezia Giulia, which on November 21 approved “its” law to boost the sector, allocating 2.4 million euros for the two-year period 2025-2026. These range from incentives for refitting boats to the scrapping bonus, from funding for the transition to electric engines to support for chartering, and then resources for ports, for technological innovation, and even for events and shows dedicated to the development of boating. Well done!

Proposals – Friuli Venezia Giulia’s is an initiative that should be taken as an example by other regions. In fact, it shows that if there is a will and initiative, one can significantly affect the development of boating even at the local level.

On-board equipment, rationalize!

Despite the premise always being to “simplify the matter,” every time boating regulations are put in place they always end up adding new obligations. With the recent revision of the Regulations implementing the Recreational Code, for example, the list of safety equipment on board has lengthened again. The new entries are: automatic activation light for life jackets, hand sounder, day and night visual signal table, safety harness with umbilical safety line (for sailing units). Plus there is the novelty of “recommended” on-board equipment, which is not clear what it means.

Proposals – Halt the continued growth of on-board equipment, rationalizing current ones if appropriate (see “First Aid Kits”); prevent “recommended” ones from becoming mandatory.

First aid kit too expensive

Italian boats have among their mandatory on-board equipment one of the most impressive (and expensive) first-aid kits in the world. A kind of navigational medical garrison to be the envy of an ambulance. A kit consisting of 23 items with such unlikely accessories as five “pluss oximeters” (instruments used to measure hemoglobin saturation), to which are added a phonendoscope, a sphygmomanometer and even a resuscitation mask (Ambu), which many doctors say should be used only by specifically trained people. All compulsory from sailing more than 12 miles from the coast. This nautical first aid kit is one of the most striking examples of an oppressive bureaucracy.

Proposals – Adapt the first aid kit to the actual needs (and capabilities) of the boater. Look at any kit in use abroad and adjust accordingly.

Vessels abroad

The problem with the navigation of Italian vessels abroad lies in the fact that a document certifying the boat’s nationality is generally required, and on this aspect, nations bordering us such as Slovenia, Croatia and Greece in particular have become strict. However, “our” boat, not being a compulsorily registered unit, does not have this documentation. With an amendment to the Recreational Code, it was thought to solve this issue by introducing a new document, the “Attestazione per natanti da diporto italiani,” which, however, does not seem to have solved the problem. In fact, so far it has not been recognized as valid by the nations in question. The new attestation, in effect, merely combines the already existing Declaration of Construction and Importation (DCI), a technical document issued by a business association (Confindustria Nautica), with a self-certification, all authenticated by a Sportello Telematico del Diportista (Sted). It therefore does not have the same value as an entry in the national maritime registers (now Atcn). The situation is stalled.

Proposal – The feeling is that forcing one’s hand on vessel identification may do damage: that is, it risks taking away the administrative “freedom” that makes it so cheap to operate and free of bureaucratic obligations. The way to allow free sailing in neighboring nations may then be through bilateral agreements, as has already happened with France, perhaps also using the new certificate. Otherwise, those who want to sail “without borders” can always decide to register the boat.

Fabrizio Coccia

• In episode 1: Professional skipper, telematics registry, end-of-life boats
• In episode 2: Marinas and Marine Protected Areas.
• In episode 3: Foreign flags and licenses.
• In the next installment: promotion, rafts, control at sea, social boating