VESSEL REVIEW | Eco Trieste – Hybrid waste collection boat for Italy's Adriatic Sea ports

Italian environmental services provider Itelyum Sea FVG has launched a new vessel built to collect and transport waste generated by ships calling at the ports of Trieste and Monfalcone.

Eco Trieste was launched at the Porto San Rocco Marina Resort in Muggia, near Trieste, on September 29, 2026. Itelyum said at the time that the vessel was expected to begin service soon.

Her operations will fall under the ship-generated waste concession awarded by the Port System Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea (AdSPMAO), covering both ports and their roadsteads.

Itelyum has described the Italian-flagged vessel as the largest hybrid-powered waste collection vessel in Italy and the first of its type to operate in the Adriatic.

Significant transport capacity ensuring fewer round trips

The workboat has a length of 24 metres (79 feet), a beam of eight metres (26 feet), and a gross tonnage of 58. Itelyum said the vessel was designed for all-weather operational safety and crew comfort.

The vessel can carry 60 tonnes of cargo in 120 cubic metres (4,200 cubic feet), split across four compartments. Itelyum said its volume is three times the average for comparable vessels operating in Italy.

The added capacity is intended to let the crew complete a collection round across an entire port, including the roadstead, in a single session. This reduces the need for intermediate trips to discharge cargo and minimises vessel movements inside the port.

The compartmented hold allows waste fractions to be segregated on board as they are collected, with the aim of increasing the recovery of recyclable material.

Digital load cells record the weight of each individual transfer from a client ship. Dedicated software then transmits the data to shore in real time, giving the operator a traceable record of each delivery for regulatory compliance purposes.

Flexible propulsion arrangement for harbour operation

Propulsion is provided by a hybrid system combining electric motors, a battery pack, and two diesel engines. The vessel runs in all-electric mode when navigating within the port basins and during manoeuvres, producing no direct emissions in these phases.

The diesel engines are IMO Tier II- and Engine International Air Pollution Prevention-certified, indicating compliance with the NOx emissions limits of MARPOL Annex VI.

During higher-power phases, the hybrid system uses engine-generated energy to recharge the batteries automatically.

The engines are compatible with 100 per cent HVO. Itelyum said that running on HVO can cut CO₂ emissions by up to 90 per cent compared with conventional fossil fuels. Savings of this order are generally calculated on a lifecycle basis and depend on the feedstock used to produce the fuel.

According to Itelyum Sea FVG Chief Executive Alessandro Bullo, Eco Trieste forms part of the company's 2026 investment programme, which also includes the introduction of Italy's first mobile ballast water treatment system and the refurbishment of the barge L. Magadi into a bilge water treatment facility authorised by the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.

AdSPMAO President Marco Consalvo said the new vessel, "enhances the environmental services available at the ports of Trieste and Monfalcone."