• Innovative SME T1 Solutions has developed patented sponges that prevent and absorb hydrocarbon spills and can be supplied both to ports and to individual recreational boaters.
• The Q8 Sailing for change project will provide kits to 40 Italian ports over the 2024–2025 two-year period, bringing the initiative to five symbolic stops: starting from Naples, Messina, Brindisi, Ravenna and Trieste.
• At the Barcolana in Trieste, in addition to the kit for the port, a thousand more will be distributed to recreational boaters.

How can we protect our seas from pollution caused by accidental hydrocarbon spills? First and foremost, through awareness. With a few simple precautions, combined with particular care during refuelling and operational manoeuvres, recreational boaters can avoid losing those drops of fuel that may seem insignificant but, over time, cause harm to ecosystems and the organisms that inhabit them. At the same time, the right tools are needed. The simpler they are, the more effective they are. That is why it matters so much that the network of Italian ports equipped with innovative oil-absorbing sponges continues to grow.

How the kits against accidental hydrocarbon spills work

Many approaches have been tried for removing hydrocarbons from the sea. But all of them have quickly shown their limitations. Polypropylene booms, for example, also absorb water, can break apart releasing plastic particles, and are single-use. Mechanical technologies such as pumps and skimmers — often used for large spills — likewise absorb water, as well as being rather slow to deploy. Chemical solvents, finally, disperse oils rather than removing them.

T1 Solutions, an innovative Italian SME with ten years of history behind it, decided to pursue a new, more practical and versatile system. This takes the form of a patented polyurethane sponge that is 95 per cent hydrophobic and more than 99 per cent oleophilic, capable of absorbing up to 30 times its own weight with each use. Once saturated, it simply needs to be wrung out using a dedicated machine: in this way, the oils can be handed over at the port and the sponge comes back into service, for up to two hundred uses. The first test was the remediation of a major spill in Fuerteventura, but this solution is equally valid on a small scale. Kits exist both for recreational boaters, to absorb oils during maintenance, refuelling and bilge-water cleaning, and for ports, to collect and store oils present in harbour waters.

The first five stops of the tour of Italian ports, with the goal of reaching 40

The hope is that, for those who sail for work or pleasure, having one of these sponges on board will become the norm. A major contribution in this direction is being made by Q8 Sailing for change, a project — launched by Q8 — that is stopping at five Italian ports over the course of 2024. It began in Naples, before heading towards Messina, Brindisi, Ravenna and finally Trieste, where the "grand finale" coincides with the historic and hugely popular Barcolana. Over the course of the year, the total will reach twenty ports.

Within this initiative, LifeGate acts as scientific and technical partner for the section dedicated to the prevention, absorption and storage of hydrocarbons. The project will therefore provide a kit to each port, as well as distributing informational materials and organising events to raise greater awareness among recreational boaters. Those boaters will receive a thousand kits at the Barcolana. The journey unfolds over two years, with the goal of reaching a total of 40 ports by the end of 2025.