The International Register is one of the ions of the competitiveness of the Italian maritime fleet

Remembering that we are "at the gates of a revolution of the national maritime policy that will change the structure of our navy because it is being defined the process of extending the benefits of the International Registry Italian to the flags of the European Union and the Economic Area European", the President of the Italian Confederation Shipowners, Mario Mattioli, specified that "Confitarma strongly supports the need to reserve these benefits for the sole subjects permanently rooted in the Italian territory. In order to avoid what unfortunately has already happened in logistics Italian, where the hegemony of great international operators who decide whether, how, what and when transport - underlined Mattioli - must be defended the national interest starting with the Italian flag. For this we firmly believe that the International Registry is it is still the pillar of our maritime policy."

Mattioli also recalled the intense action carried out by Confitarma against the Minister of the Environment in order to exclude ships registered in the International Register from the list environmentally harmful subsidies. "We have clarified, with success - he explained - that the benefits provided by the Register International have the dual purpose of attracting maritime personnel and to improve the competitiveness of Italian flag ships compared to the most tax conditions favorable offers from other flags'.

In his speech the president of Assarmatori, Stefano Messina, highlighted that the fiscal and contributory measures introduced with the International Registry in 1998 have doubled the merchant fleet of Italian flag, which from the little more of eight million tons of gross tonnage at that time, still today, despite a period of degrowth, it remains higher than 15 million tonnes. "Now, though," he added. Messina - the whole system is located at a crossroads and, depending on it of the road he will take, there may be a new Raise. Italy, as also hoped by Assarmatori - has detected Messina thus confirming that the location of the association in this regard is different from that of Confitarma - you are starting to change the order of the Registry International according to the approach indicated by the EU, i.e. broadening the benefits for maritime employment provided by the Law 30/98 also to ships flying the flag of a European country or the European Economic Area. The problem is that from procedures for enrolling workers in tests and inspections to communication systems, from the recruitment of on-board doctors the procedures for inspecting cargoes when issuing and renewing cargoes safety certificates, there is almost no norm or procedure Italian that is not more cumbersome and expensive than those imposed by the average of other European countries. At this point - has concluded the president of Assarmatori - without a serious work of simplification and de-debureaucratization, the risk of a Migrating to more efficient and cheaper registries is absolutely real especially for the ship engaged in the international trade'.

Beyond the question of the International Register and of its extension to other EU flags, Mattioli has also focused on the naval units registered in the first Register, complaining that the government has not yet provided for a support for shipowners' companies that ensure the fundamentals maritime cabotage and product replenishment services necessary for the propulsion and consumption on board ships, and storage and assistance to national energy platforms. "They are services - he underlined - that have never stopped during the pandemic and that the government itself has defined as "essential for the country"».

In the speech of the president of Confitarma there was also space for the green transition of the maritime sector: "the shipping - said Mattioli - is aware of the need to accelerate the time of decarbonization, but the goal can be achieved only if governments take action Necessary. Our government, in order to support the process of ecological transition of the Italian fleet - he recalled - allocated through the Supplementary Fund to the PNRR resources important for the renewal and modernisation of ships. For that it is important that all Italian ships, even those that operate outside the country, can access green contributions, reserving however a specific reward for traffic Mediterranean, so as to support the entire Italian fleet in the important process of ecological transition launched at international. It is clear - he specified - that the objective common is to implement a concrete ecological transition of the transport chain but this must be done without disadvantage Italian companies engaged daily in the international competition for this we expect the Government support the companies that have to bear the costs of this transformation'.