Our History

Sepor was founded in 1952 from an intuition of Cesare Mori. Driven by an iron will, entrepreneurial spirit and organizational intelligence of its founder, Sepor established itself in the first years following the Second World War as a company specializing in the supply of port services (hence the name Se-por) at the Port of La Spezia.

In the 1960s the port services of Sepor are increasingly oriented towards the ecological sector. In these years the first motorized boat, called Sepor I, was built for the collection of waste from ships and the cleaning of the bodies of water.

During the 1970s the company expanded the range of its services to include tank cleaning and industrial and naval high-pressure washing.

During the 1980s, Sepor’s fleet included several boats, all designed by the company itself, for waste collection and marine depollution.

With the construction at the end of the eighties in the Port of La Spezia of the first national port plant for the treatment of oily bilge water (later expanded to other types of industrial water) and the sterilization plant for ships’ waste, Sepor completes its production cycle which ranges from naval and industrial reclamation to land and sea oil spill response, the collection and treatment of bilge wastewater and the collection and sterilization of waste from ships.

During the first decade of 2000, the company increasingly consolidates its business, thanks to a great innovation in the naval field, building the multipurpose skimmer vessels Optimist and Acqua Azzurra. Furthermore, over the years the company gradually replaces most of its fleet of barges from single-hull units to double-hull units.

In its tankcleaning department Sepor acquires and develops increasingly innovative equipment for the oil recovery and non-man entrance which include fluidization plants, robots for sludge extraction and the vertical washing of tanks’ shell.

Following the Costa Concordia accident, Sepor with its Acqua Azzurra is employed, between 2012 and 2014, on the Isola del Giglio to execute environmental containment operations on the disaster site.

Additionally, Acqua Azzurra is part of the international convoy of 14 boats, in July 2014, which escorted the Concordia wreck from the Isola del Giglio to the Genoa Voltri port.

In 2021 Sepor achieves its most ambitious goal, the implementation of a multipurpose solid and liquid waste treatment plant located at the head of Molo Garibaldi in the Commercial Port of La Spezia. For the plant solutions chosen, this plant represents a national excellence in the field of circular economy and Industry 4.0.

In September 2023, Sepor introduces a fully electric propulsion vessel called “Elettra” into its fleet, designed for the collection of waste from ships stationed in the commercial port and the Gulf of La Spezia. “Elettra” is characterized by its autonomy, speed, and maneuverability, ensured by two electric motors, each with a power of 176 kW. The boat, measuring 16.50 meters in length and 4.60 meters in width, is constructed entirely in fiberglass, a lightweight and durable material.

Sepor has published its first sustainability report for the fiscal year 2022. The report has undergone external assurance by SGS Italia.