Decree of the President of the Republic 8 November 1991, n. 435. Approval of the Regulation for the safety of navigation and human life at sea.

This Decree approves the Regulation, consisting of 256 articles, for the safety of navigation and human life at sea.
The Decree applies to: a) national merchant ships with some specified exceptions (ships belonging to military, customs, police and fire brigade administrations or directly exercised by them and ships used for the transport of troops); b) to foreign merchant ships touching Italian ports, which are not subject to the Merchant Ships Convention and to those subject to the Convention for the articles in which such application is expressly provided; c) to all ships regardless of their date of construction, unless specific provisions apply only to ships built in a given period.
The Regulation are organized in 4 main headings: heading 1 sets provisions covering all checks and documents required to ensure the safety of navigation; heading 2 concerns the requirements for the construction and lay out of the ship. Heading 3 covers the protection of vessels against fire: Heading 4 finally lists and provides for various nautical equipment and arrangements on board.