Practice areas
Since its establishment Siccardi Bregante & C. has offered a wide range of shipping law services, both contentious and non-contentious. The experience accrued in this field and the in-depth knowledge of the market allows us to offer Clients, which include shipowners, charterers, shipyards, underwriters, banks or other players, a competent, specialised and dedicated service.
With the aim of constantly addressing any specific new or changed requirements of our Clients through a constant process of study and update, we have expanded our practice to matters related to shipping law, such as air, road and railway transport, logistics, non-marine insurance, industrial certification, national and transboundary insolvency procedures.
THE FIRM
For more than forty years, taking advantage of the continuous and constant updating of our professional knowledge, we have stepped forward as a reference point for all players who – in shipping and related matters – seek quality assistance for the pragmatic solution of their legal needs.
Over time we have strengthened our resources, joining together with the most experienced partners a new generation of lawyers, who have contributed to improve the practice of our Firm not only by their professional knowledge but also bringing new ideas when facing the challenges of a continuously developing market.
16-12-2025
Overview of the limitation of shipowners' debt under Italian law – Assagenti Newsletter
On November Assagenti Newsletter Avv. Francesca Barisione comments on the main difficulties in applying the limitation of shipowners' liability in Italy, starting from the well-known gaps of the Italian legislation regime applicable to Italian ships of 300 gross tonnage or more, given the lack of formal ratification of the 1976 London Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, adopted by the IMO, as amended by the 1996 Protocol (LLMC 1996), since the Italian Legislative Decree no. 111/2012 only implemented Directive 2009/20/EC on the insurance of shipowners for maritime claims (for sums at least equal to the limits established in the LLMC 1996).
The comment also focuses on the ruling of the Italian Supreme Court no. 25290/2025, concerning the regime provided for by the Italian Code of Navigation (articles 275 and ff.), regulating the limitation of shipowners' liability for Italian ships of less than 300 gross tonnage, rejecting the plaintiffs’ application to raise a constitutional issue on articles 275 and 276 Cod. Nav. with reference to articles 2, 3 and 32 of the Italian Constitution, and stating that, according to the Supreme Court, the said regime would guarantee a fair balance between the conflicting interests of the injured parties claiming compensation, on the one hand, and of the continuity of the shipping business, considered essential, on the other hand.
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