The TAP, the gas pipeline that crosses the Adriatic and brings gas from Azerbaijan to Italy, continues with environmental protection activities in the crystalline waters of San Foca in Puglia. The company – with mixed participation: BP (20%), Socar (20%), Snam (20%), Fluxys (19%), Enagás (16%) and Axpo (5%) – completed the laying of particular deterrents aimed at inhibit trawling in bathymetric depths of less than 50 metres, where this activity is not permitted, within the waters in front of San Foca, in Salento near Lecce.
It is an intervention that falls within the environmental mitigation operations deriving from the analysis of the state of the seabed affected by the works at sea and has the objective of protecting the underwater flora and fauna, favoring the increase of marine biological resources both through the blocking of the practice of illegal trawling, and through the preparation of substrates suitable for the fish population.
“The intervention, carried out in compliance with the authorizations in force and in coordination with the competent authorities, was carried out with artefacts and materials which promote the flourishing of biodiversity, capturing CO2 and offering better structural performance than traditional concrete,” the company said in a statement.
In addition to preventing trawling, the particular shape and materials that make up the structures also provide refuge for many fish species, enriching the underwater habitat and increasing the abundance of fish in these waters for the benefit of the local navy, with whom Tap shared the details of the intervention.
In particular, the spatial arrangement of these structures makes it possible to create a large area of about 700 meters on each side made up of 20 anti-trawl stations made up of bollards arranged in a pyramid shape and another area with specific monitoring purposes and restocking oases of the fish fauna, made up of 20 close stations for a total size of 40×60 metres.
“The laying activity was carried out in the waters surrounding the exit point of the microtunnel in San Foca, at a depth between 16 and 43 metres, where illegal trawling it had impacted the original Posidonia meadow”, explains the company. In addition to the installation of the bollards and the related foundation stone mattresses carried out by the main vessel, a second vessel was dedicated to environmental monitoring in progress, followed and coordinated by the control bodies.
Il Tap is one of the strategic pipelines to reduce Italy's dependence on Russian gas by diversifying suppliers. The pipeline transports 10 billion cubic meters to Italy and another two go to Greece and Bulgaria where an interconnection upgrade is underway. For Italy, a doubling of Azeri gas is envisaged, which in the future will be increasingly important for supplies to Europe.
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