Where candidates go wrong
At the oral, the first question is often the simplest: what does this title let you do? Candidates lose marks by overselling it. Three errors recur:
- Treating it as STCW. It is not. It is a national title created by art. 36-bis of the Codice della nautica da diporto (D.Lgs. 171/2005). It carries no weight on a Red Ensign or Maltese yacht.
- Confusing length with tonnage. The limit is 200 GT, not 24 m. A 27 m nave da diporto of 180 GT is inside it; a 35 m nave of 250 GT is not.
- Forgetting the geography. Mediterranean and inland waters only. A delivery through Gibraltar, or to the Canaries, is outside the title.
The title in one table
| Item | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Ufficiale di navigazione del diporto di 2ª classe (UND 2ª classe) | D.Lgs. 171 art. 36-bis |
| Function | Comandante (master) | D.M. 121 art. 4-bis(1) |
| Units | Italian-flag imbarcazioni and navi da diporto, also adibite al noleggio (used for charter); navi destinate esclusivamente al noleggio (charter-only ships) | art. 4-bis(1)(a)(b) |
| Tonnage | ≤200 GT | art. 4-bis(1) |
| Waters | Mar Mediterraneo and acque interne | art. 4-bis(1) |
| Enrolment | Not required in the matricole della gente di mare; optional | D.M. 121 art. 3(2-bis) |
| Sail | Needs the specializzazione vela, free of exam for holders of a sail-valid patente | D.M. 121 art. 8; bando art. 2 |
The title comes from D.M. 121/2005 as rewritten by D.M. 227/2023, applicable from 5 May 2024. The exam is regulated by D.D. 40 of 14 March 2025.
Where it sits on the ladder
The next step is the UND (STCW II/1), which lets you command navi under 500 GT and stand watch up to 3000 GT. An enrolled UND 2ª classe holder can reach it with 18 months on yachts over 15 m instead of the standard 36 months (D.M. 121 art. 5). Above that come capitano del diporto (≤3000 GT) and comandante del diporto (no limit). See Working on Yachts in Italy for the full ladder.
Commercial work you can do with it
- Noleggio (crewed charter) on units within the limits. The minimum crew of a charter imbarcazione carrying more than eight passengers, or longer than 18 m, is two; a charter nave needs three (D.M. 146 art. 89).
- Locazione con prescrizione di comandante (art. 42-bis, new with L. 70/2026, in force 10 May 2026). The hirer of an imbarcazione designates a skipper holding at least this title. Maximum 12 persons excluding the master, a single hirer who is a natural person, and both contracts kept on board.
- Noleggio occasionale (art. 49-bis). On imbarcazioni a patente held for three years is enough; on navi the skipper needs a titolo professionale del diporto, and this is one.
CAUTION — Private use of charter yachts Since May 2026, units annotated for locazione or noleggio may not be used for non-commercial activity (art. 2(4)). If the owner wants a private week, check how the annotation was made before you sail.
What the examiner wants to see
A crisp definition: comandante, bandiera italiana, fino a 200 GT, Mediterraneo e acque interne, anche noleggio, titolo non STCW. Then one example of what is outside it (a 250 GT yacht, a transatlantic delivery, a foreign flag). Examiners like candidates who know the limits of their own authority.
Vocabolario d'esame
| Italiano | English |
|---|---|
| ufficiale di navigazione del diporto di 2ª classe | yacht deck officer, 2nd class |
| comandante | master |
| stazza (GT) | gross tonnage |
| imbarcazione da diporto | pleasure craft 10–24 m |
| nave da diporto | pleasure vessel over 24 m |
| adibita al noleggio | used for charter |
| locazione con prescrizione di comandante | bareboat hire with a prescribed skipper |
| matricole della gente di mare | seafarers' register |
| specializzazione vela | sail endorsement |