Italian bunker supplier Alpha Trading plans to invest around €20 million
(US$22 million) over the next five to ten years in the Trieste coastal fuel
terminal it has taken over through the acquisition of Seastock. Alpha Trading said that it had bought the
entire stake in Seastock, which holds the concession for the Trieste Coastal
Terminal, from the Tosto Group. The price was not disclosed. Alpha Trading Chief Executive Adriano Parodi
told Il Sole 24 Ore that the investment is intended to make the depot
more efficient and flexible while improving safety at work, safeguarding the
environment, and enhancing cybersecurity.
The programme covers infrastructure modernisation and additional storage
for HVO and advanced biofuels, alongside continued supply of conventional
marine products. Parodi said that
Alpha Trading aims, “to make further acquisitions in the Mediterranean area
over the next 12 months." Alpha
Trading has supplied physical bunkers at the facility since 2018. According to
company figures, its volumes handled through the terminal have grown from an
initial 5,000 tonnes to approximately 200,000 tonnes, with a target of 300,000
tonnes. The terminal occupies more
than 60,000 square metres in Trieste's San Sabba area, adjacent to the SIOT
pipeline docks, and has more than 100,000 cubic metres of storage capacity
across 26 tanks. It has a quay for ship loading and unloading, a separate jetty
for bunker barges, an internal railway network, and road tanker loading
infrastructure.
The Tosto Group said the sale forms part of a strategy to focus on its
core business of designing and producing large pressure equipment for the
energy, nuclear, and oil and gas sectors.