On May 18, Italian officials in the Ministry of Transport announced new procedures designed to simplify the arrival and departure of commercial yachts and pleasure vessels, according to a statement by Francesco Luise of J. Luise & Sons Ltd. in Naples, Italy.

1. Arrival and departure requirements have to be performed in the Porto Base (the Italian home port), or the first Italian port reached by a yacht coming from foreign (EU or non-EU country). If the yacht arrives from a non-EU country, she will also have to apply for an entry declaration.

2. In all the ports subsequent to the Porto Base or first port of entry, the yacht must notify the local harbormaster about arrival and notify the Porto Base harbormaster of the movement.

3. At the final port, the yacht must notify the Porto Base about the end of the cruise in Italian waters.

These new procedures do not impact existing customs requirements.

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