Originally, the earliest form of in-transit catering emerged in the maritime sector, as shipboard catering, which developed in connection with maritime transport and arose from the need to supply vessels with food and essential provisions for both crew and passengers during navigation. Legal scholarship has identified in the original form of the “naval supply contract” —that is, the ancient legal instrument aimed at fulfilling the procurement needs of ships— the origin of the current general model of naval catering. Proactive onboard suppliers and naval contractors began to expand the range of services offered to shipowners beyond the mere provision of foodstuffs, eventually including the full management of kitchen and galley services57: the legal concept of naval catering appears to have originated in Italy, owing to the entrepreneurial foresight of Anacleto Ligabue who, as early as 1919, supplied provisions to the vessels of the Venetian Navigation Company in the port of Venice. Approximately a decade later, Ligabue expanded his business activities beyond the simple provision of foodstuffs, by offering onboard assistance to kitchen personnel. This marked the effective inception of what is now recognized as naval catering services. Naval catering, unlike the subsequently developed airline catering, is distinguished by a structurally different and considerably more complex organization. This complexity arises primarily from the longer duration of maritime transport, which necessitates supplying the vessel with sufficient provisions to cover the entire length of the voyage. As a matter of fact, in naval catering, the catering company hereby undertakes, by virtue of a contractual agreement with the shipowner, to supply meals to the crew, shore-based personnel, and passengers aboard a specified number of vessels, as well as to provide each vessel with an adequate quantity of provisions sufficient to cover the entire duration of each voyage. Pursuant to this arrangement, the shipowner is released from any organizational or managerial obligations related to onboard catering services, which are fully delegated to the contracted catering company58. Accordingly, the service is structured as a comprehensive and integrated catering operation, encompassing the entirety of its functional phases, including but not limited to the procurement and logistics of food supplies, the organization and execution of meal distribution, and all auxiliary tasks such as the cleaning, upkeep, and maintenance of dining halls, bars, restaurants, storage areas, and kitchen facilities. In furtherance of the service, the shipowner undertakes to provide the catering company, on a gratuitous basis, with access 57 Benelli, I contratti di ristorazione e catering, cit. 185. 58 Pittalis, Catering, cit., 302. 52 VINCENZO FRANCESCHELLI | SARA D´URSO | ALESSANDRA CORRADO
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