Rome – The government representative who came to the Confitarma annual assembly more prepared than any other was Guido Crosetto, the Minister of Defense. He himself explained the reason: “I am a friend of one of your members whom I met during the holidays. He explained many things to me, he told me about the Maltese register and the Italian bureaucracy to be resolved. I have entrusted this topic to the new commander of the Harbor Master’s Corps, Sergio Liardo.” Among the guests at the assembly, the question immediately arose as to who the Italian shipowner is who shared formative moments on the maritime transport sector with Minister Crosetto and, according to what was learned by SHIPPING ITALY, it is the Brullo family, which heads the Rome-based shipping company Augusta Due.
The Minister of Defense spared the shipowners present in the room the numbers on the economic weight of their companies (“You already know them better than I do”) and then asked to overcome “the mentality of internal divisions; it would be our death.” The invitation is to “try to form alliances,” “move forward together,” “continue to believe that what doesn’t work can be changed and fight to change it. Do not choose the easiest way of leaving.” Regarding the work of his ministry, he emphasized that “the defense of a ship in the Red Sea means defending the country and its economy. The sea will be a future ground for confrontation,” he continued. “When I think about defense and investments, I think of technologies that are not only military but also their future civilian use.” According to Crosetto, military ships will always serve to defend the seas, but in the future he also sees the use of “marine drones that can escort and prevent attacks” on merchant ships during navigation.
Also on the subject of wars and conflicts (in the same minutes when the first news of an increasingly probable truce in Gaza was arriving), the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Edoardo Rixi, regarding the ships turned away in recent days in some Italian ports (because they were bound for Israel or connected to that country), said: “We must dialogue with everyone, both with governments we like and with those we don’t like. I was pleased to see that Livorno has opened its port to all companies.” The reference is to the docking of ships that, following protests on the quay, had remained outside the port for a long time waiting to enter and dock.
Among the colorful notes of the Confitarma 2025 assembly, what was surprising was a start that was almost perfectly punctual at 9:30 in the morning, an unusual time for this kind of Roman appointment.
From an institutional perspective, a crescendo opening with Minister Crosetto and a delayed closing due to the speeches by the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanché (who also attended in person but kept everyone waiting), and the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso (connected via video).
Associates, the executive board, and the general council were practically all present, with the absence (which did not go unnoticed) of Barbara Visentini, whose company (Giovanni Visentini Trasporti Fluviomarittimi) in recent weeks had been at the center of some discontent, even with a risk of immediate exit from the association, promptly resolved by the direct intervention with Giovanni Visentini by president Mario Zanetti, vice president Guido Grimaldi, and general manager Luca Sisto.
For the rest, “the usual indispensable parade of handshakes,” to use the words of one of those present.
Marialaura Dell’Abate (Amoretti Armatori) was elected new president of the Confitarma Young Shipowners Group.
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