REFERENCE REGULATIONS FOR RECREATIONAL UNDERWATER ACTIVITIES

The sectors of professional and recreational diving, deeply interconnected yet so different in their purposes and dynamics, have always represented one of the components of the horizon to which the Port Authority Corps - Coast Guard directs its attention, both for the multiple technical-administrative profiles that the Maritime Offices are called upon to perform for the benefit of the sector, and - above all - for the aspects related to safety and the protection of human life at sea.

It should be emphasized that in Italy there is no regulatory device that regulates such activities. In the case of recreational scuba diving, the lack of a primary legal source is even more striking when compared to the widespread nature of the phenomenon, a sector of exceptional vitality and interest given the tourist appeal of our coasts.

Precisely with regard to safety profiles – the most important factor for the Coast Guard – given its institutional role, in the absence of a specific regulatory framework, is that recreational underwater activity must be brought back to those “technical norms” and quality standards that today distinguish the sector.

For these reasons, in order to generate that necessary process of awareness in the operators, increase the proximity of the Corps to the world of Diving and improve the safety aspects of diving, the following are those standards issued by International Organizations aimed at guaranteeing the quality of the service and increasing safety in recreational underwater activities that are substantiated in documents that specify "how to do things well", in line with the basic rules of prudence.

We are referring to those precepts and rules of good technique that the international, European and national standardization bodies (ISO, CEN, UNI) have developed and which, to date, represent the synthesis of the professionalism and scientific development of the sector, albeit with the non-legal value that Regulation (EU) 1025 of 2012 currently gives them. Among these rules, we cannot fail to mention the special form of liability defined as "administrative", of legal persons, companies and associations without legal personality, pursuant to Legislative Decree 9 April 2008, no. 81.

Technical standards for recreational diving:

Standard number: UNI EN 14467:2006 (*)

  • Title : Recreational Diving Services – Requirements for Recreational Diving Service Providers
  • Effective date: 09 March 2006
  • Summary : This standard is the official version of the European standard EN 14467 (February 2004 edition). The standard specifies requirements for providers of the following services in the field of diving services: training and education; guided and organised dives; supply of diving equipment. Service providers may offer one or more of the previous services. The standard defines the nature and quality of the services to the customer and applies only in a contractual context.

Standard number: UNI EN ISO 24801-1:2014

  • Title: Recreational diving services – Training requirements for recreational divers – Part 1: Level 1 – Non-self-contained and/or supervised diver (Supervised Diver)
  • Effective date: May 27, 2014
  • Summary: This standard is the official English language version of the European standard EN ISO 24801-1 (April 2014 edition). The standard specifies the competences that a recreational diver must acquire in order to be awarded the qualification of recreational diver by the Training Organisation, which indicates that he has achieved or exceeded the recreational diver level 1 “Required diver” and/or guided diver and specifies the criteria for assessing these competences.

Standard number: UNI EN ISO 24801-2:2014

  • Title : Recreational diving services – Training requirements for recreational divers – Part 2: Level 2 Autonomous Diver
  • Effective date: May 27, 2014
  • Summary: This standard is the official English language version of the European standard EN ISO 24801-2 (April 2014 edition). The standard specifies the competences that a recreational diver must acquire in order to be awarded the qualification of recreational diver by the Training Organisation, which indicates that he has achieved or exceeded recreational diver level 2 “Autonomous diver” and specifies the criteria for assessing these competences.

Standard number: UNI EN ISO 24801-3:2014

  • Title : Recreational diving services – Requirements for training of recreational divers – Part 3: Level 3 – Dive leader
  • Effective date: May 27, 2014
  • Summary: This standard is the official English language version of the European standard EN ISO 24801-3 (April 2014 edition). The standard specifies the competences that a recreational diver must acquire in order to be awarded the qualification of recreational diver by the Training Organisation, which indicates that he has achieved or exceeded recreational diver level 3 “Diving guide” and specifies the criteria for assessing these competences.

Standard number: UNI EN ISO 24802-1:2014

  • Title : Recreational diving services – Requirements for training of diving instructors – Part 1: Level 1
  • Effective date: May 27, 2014
  • Summary: This standard is the official English language version of the European standard EN ISO 24802-1 (April 2014 edition). The standard specifies the competences that a diving instructor must acquire in order to be awarded the qualification of diving instructor by the Training Organisation, which indicates that he has achieved or exceeded diving instructor level 1 and specifies the criteria for assessing these competences.

Standard number: UNI EN ISO 24802-2:2014

  • Title : Recreational diving services – Training requirements for diving instructors – Part 2: Level 2
  • Effective date: May 27, 2014
  • Summary: This standard is the official English language version of the European standard EN ISO 24802-2 (April 2014 edition). The standard specifies the competences that a diving instructor must acquire in order to be awarded the qualification of diving instructor by the Training Organisation, which indicates that he has achieved or exceeded diving instructor level 2 and specifies the criteria for assessing these competences.

Standard number: UNI ISO 11107:2010

  • Title : Recreational Diving Services – Requirements for Enriched Air Nitrox (EAN) Scuba Training Programs
  • Effective date: 24 June 2010
  • Summary: The standard specifies the level of competence required for a diver to be awarded a certification as an enriched air nitrox diver by a training organization. The standard also specifies the conditions under which this training is to be provided, in addition to the general requirements for recreational diving services specified in ISO 24803.

Standard number: UNI ISO 11121:2017

  • Title : Recreational Diving Services – Requirements for Introductory Scuba Diving Training Programs
  • Effective date: 08 March 2017
  • Summary: This standard specifies minimum requirements for training organizations offering introductory scuba diving training programs for non-divers. It applies to programs that include participants who are taken into an open aquatic environment. It does not apply to programs that are conducted exclusively in a confined aquatic environment (e.g. swimming pools). The standard also specifies the conditions under which this service shall be provided, in addition to the general requirements for recreational diving services specified in ISO 24803.

Standard number: UNI EN ISO 13293:2013

  • Title : Recreational Diving Services – Gas Blender Training Program Requirements
  • Effective date: May 16, 2013
  • Summary : This standard is the official English language version of the European standard EN ISO 13293 (November 2012 edition). The standard specifies the requirements for gas blender training programmes and the competences required for a person to obtain from a training organisation a “Gas Blender” certificate attesting that he meets or exceeds the requirements specified in this International Standard. It specifies two levels of gas blender qualification: Gas Blender Level 1; Gas Blender Level 2.

Standard number : ISO 13289:2011

  • Title: Recreational diving services — Requirements for the conduct of snorkelling excursions
  • Effective date: November 29, 2011

Standard number : ISO 13970:2011

  • Title: Recreational diving services — Requirements for the training of recreational snorkelling guides
  • Effective date: November 29, 2011

Standard number : ISO 24803:2017

  • Title: Recreational diving services — Requirements for recreational scuba diving service providers
  • Effective date: 08 March 2017

NOTE:

  • ISO (International Organization for Standardization), based in Geneva, Switzerland, is an organization that brings together the national standards bodies of 164 countries in the world, with the aim of developing international technical standards necessary to promote trade in goods and services.
  • CEN (Comité Européen de Normalisation), based in Brussels, Belgium, is a European organisation that develops and publishes European technical standards.
  • UNI (Italian Unification Body), based in Milan, is a private law association with legal personality, which develops and publishes national technical standards in Italy.
  • (*) The UNI EN 14467:2006 standard has been made a national standard in Italy starting from 2006 (UNI/EN 14467). The ISO 24803 parity was updated on 08 March 2017.