“A concrete step forward with a view to increasing the competitiveness of the Italian flag compared to other competing flags”. Thus the president of Assarmatori, Stefano Messina, comments on the publication in the Official Journal of the decree with which the general commander of the Port Authority Corps – Coast Guard, Admiral Nicola Carlone, gave the green light to the security checks required by SOLAS. The agreement, and the consequent release of the necessary certifications, can also be carried out by a body recognized by the maritime Authority, and no longer just by the Corps’ staff as has happened so far.

“We are now awaiting the signing of the necessary delegation agreements – explains Messina – The fact that the body in charge must be recognized by the General Command and be periodically subjected to monitoring of the services provided by the competent Authority, represents a guarantee factor: the visits will continue to be carried out with the utmost rigor, but with better optimization and efficiency of the resources used. The work carried out by Admiral Nicola Carlone and his entire structure with this Decree represents a further step towards simplification and competitiveness, which the national armament has been waiting for for some time”.

In this perspective, another fundamental step to make the Italian flag more attractive will consist in granting similar delegation to the recognized bodies also for the visits foreseen by the 2006 MLC convention, as well as for the intermediate visits of radio inspections.