After its approval in the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies has now also given the green light to the Simplification Bill, which introduces important measures to streamline and reduce the administrative burden on maritime transport—reforms repeatedly advocated by Assarmatori in its ongoing dialogue with the Institutions to safeguard and strengthen the international competitiveness of a sector that is vital for a country like Italy.

“These are measures that carry no cost for the State budget,” commented Stefano Messina, President of the shipowners’ association, “yet they are extremely important for shipping companies and for maritime labour. As is well known, the Italian flag has been in difficulty for several years—not in favour of flags of convenience from fiscal havens, but to the advantage of EU registries that offer a lean, fully digitalised administrative framework. This approval represents a significant step forward for our country in this regard.”

In particular, the Bill makes permanent the simplifications introduced during the pandemic concerning embarkation and disembarkation annotations and the formal requirements of seafarers’ employment contracts—measures that had been renewed year after year—allowing the use of digital formats and the possibility of signing contracts in locations other than that of the shipowner. The Bill also provides for the streamlining and reorganisation of rules governing onboard medical services on merchant vessels, with specific reference to the relevant healthcare roles, taking into account the time that has passed since the Royal Decree of 29 September 1895, No. 636, which approved the “Regulation on Maritime Health”.

“We are fully satisfied with the outcome of this process, which we have followed closely from the outset,” Messina concluded. “But the effort to cut red tape in the administrative framework governing maritime transport in Italy must continue without delay: the approval of the Simplification Bill must be the kick-off of a process that brings Italian maritime competitiveness back to the global stage—certainly not the final whistle of the match.”