One concept that has been spreading in the marine industry is “simplification”. Last March two steps towards the actual achievement of this target have been made. The objective is to ease the pleasure boaters’ life in such a hard time. Following the requests from the business operators made during the last Salone Nautico held in Genoa, the Italian government has taken some steps in this direction.
The first one is called Bollino Blu and should prevent sea routine controls from doubling for Italian and foreign boaters sailing the Italian waters. After the first check made on the boat at the beginning of the season, including checks on documents, safety equipment and tax payment, the pleasure boaters will receive a certification and a label that shall be affixed on the boat. This label will indicate that the boat has passed the checks and will avoid further controls.
The Minister for Infrastructures and Transports, Corrado Passera, has affirmed that the blue label (Bollino Blu) will optimize controls and support the movement of the pleasure boaters who comply with the rules.
The second step towards simplification should be made thanks to the introduction of the Central Computerised System for pleasure boating. This should a database containing all technical, legal, administrative information on pleasure boats. The system should start working in autumn, when the next Salone Nautico will be held in Genoa. According to the Vice Minister, Caccia, these measures “will help the recovery of the pleasure boat industry, which is one of the driving sectors of the Italian economy”. On his part, Anton Francesco Albertoni, the UCINA Chairman, has pointed out that the sector will benefit for sure from reducing the bureaucratic burden on pleasure boaters.
Sources: lastampa.it – shippingonline.ilsecoloxix.it
