1996.Legislative decree arrives to make life easier for the yachtsman

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The EC boat

From Boats to Motor 1996, no. 8, September, pp. 20-21.

The legislative decree, wanted by the Minister of Transport and Navigation to simplify the “life” of the yachtsman, came into force in August, creating quite a stir among those who were sailing this summer. Substantial changes were made regarding the classification of boats imposed by the EC’s European regulations. But many regulations still need to be changed; such as that for the chartering of vessels, the ordinance on the use of the tender, and the unification of the Bodies in charge of controls at sea.

1) Abolished the VHF tax.

Mandatory VHF equipment on board registered vessels, if not used for public correspondence traffic, must not be entrusted to a licensee company to operate and pay the corresponding fee. However, the issuance of the new license to operate the radiotelephone system is subject to the payment to the state treasury of a fee of 10,000 lire, which will be paid to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and will be paid by a simple system (such as a revenue stamp). It will then be necessary to terminate the contract with the concessionaires (Sirm and Telemar).

2) From 2 to 16 miles

For some watercraft, the waters within which they can sail have expanded considerably, and the destinations they can now reach are many. In fact, for vessels approved even beyond six miles and those that will be built under the new EC regulations, it will be possible to sail up to 12 miles from the coast. But there are still some problems for now. The first concerns the requirement to possess a boat license beyond six miles. In addition, currently the safety regulations do not provide for equipment to sail up to 12 miles, so to go beyond the fateful 6 for now you must have the necessary equipment for registered boats (see the last table on the right on the facing page), which are many and often very expensive.

3) Safety equipment

The new legislative decree stipulates that the equipment to be on board is no longer related to the navigation a boat is capable of doing, but must be that required for the type of navigation it is doing. On this page we have listed all the equipment required for the three main ranges: within 3 miles of the coast; within six miles of the coast; and beyond six miles. As mentioned earlier, some vessels can now sail up to twelve miles from the coast with the required equipment only up to six miles. As for inland waters, the endowments even for registered boats stop at those required for those sailing within three miles of the coast.

4) Licenses

The introduction of a new discipline mainly concerning self-certification will allow for the unbureaucratization of the licensing process. In addition, it will be possible by the Port Authority to hand over the document (the license) after the practical examination.

5) EC Boats

The legislative decree also introduces compliance with the provisions on the construction, certification and CE marking of boats. This legislation also concerns the maximum motorization that will be possible to install on board, the loads that can be taken on board, and the people that can be transported. This adjustment will thus enable our shipyards not to lose sales in the foreign market. CE boats will be classified into four categories, A-B-C-D, depending on the construction parameters. A boats will be qualified to sail without limit from the coast, B boats to a maximum of 25 miles from the coast, C boats within 3 miles from the coast and in inland waters, and D boats will be qualified only in inland waters, canals or rivers. Although some laws have been changed, still much needs to be done for boating such as:

1. Regulate the use of the tender: a ministerial circular would suffice to avoid arbitrary interpretations, clarifying what is to be used.
2. Weather forecast: the service should be rendered in a timely and responsible manner so as to ensure greater safety at sea for boaters.
3. Create the Coast Guard to carry out control operations at sea.
   

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