The presence of the Italis regasification terminal in the port of Piombino LNG has benefited the port cluster, but its permanence, expected until July 2026 based on authorizations currently in force, may hinder the revival of the restaurant steel hub envisaged by the programme agreement signed in July signed by Metinvest Adria, the Ministries of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Infrastructure and Transport, Environment and Energy and Labour Security and Social Policies, and by the Tuscany Region, the Municipality of Piombino and other local institutions. This was stated by the president of the System Authority Port of the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea, Davide Gariglio, speaking today at the municipal council of Piombino at the debate on the future of the regasification ship: "The Port Authority and the port cluster - explained Gariglio - have benefited in years of Italis LNG's presence, albeit in a context of suffering for the development of some of the activities ports, such as those of PIM. However, it is necessary to know if and for how long the Italis LNG will remain in port why This information has obvious repercussions on times and methods of implementation of interventions related to development projects of the steel hub".

In particular, Gariglio recalled that if on the one hand the overlapping of regasification activities with those navalmeccaniche of Piombino Industrie Marittime (PIM) has limited development prospects of the latter, which is a joint venture between the Livorno-based Neri group and the Genoese San Giorgio del Porto and who was forced to do without the east quay for the completion of the shipbuilding, on the other hand, he pointed out that the Port Authority and the port cluster have benefited greatly from the presence of the regasification terminal, also and above all in economic terms. To this end, In this regard, the president of the port authority remarked that the Port Authority collects 590 thousand euros in fees from Snam every year. Not only that, in the 2024 and in 2025 the connected liquefied natural gas cargoes the landing of LNG carriers in the port of Piombino Yielded to the Port Authority 2.18 million and 1.8 million respectively million euros of maritime fees (taxes on goods), while the anchorage fees have yielded in the two years taken as a reference 1.4 and 1.032 million euros.

Also the technical-nautical services, which allowed the terminal to operate in full operation and in compliance with the more absolute safety - added Gariglio - have generated a significant turnover: in 2024 and 2025 (until October) the mooring activities in relation to ships approaching at the regasification terminal amounted to 805 thousand and 736 thousand euros, while for the pilots the turnover earned exclusively for the services of the regasification terminal was in the two years of 727 thousand and 690 thousand euros. The fleet of tugboats dedicated to the activities of Italis LNG, which is has been increased by two units (from two to four), has instead Revenue ten million euros in 2024 and 8.8 million in 2025.

For the future, however, according to Gariglio, there are Questions to be addressed. The first of which refers to the fate of the quay used today by SNAM: according to In fact, provided for by Article 13 paragraph 5 of Decree-Law 50/2022, the systems on the quay must also be preserved in case of transfer of Italis LNG. It is therefore a question of a strategic area that can no longer be used for port development needs.

The president of the port authority recalled how on the Piombino area today there are important interventions that concern the steel area of Piombino. The reference is precisely to the program agreement signed last July and to the review of the agreement with the Indian steel group JSW. "These agreements - he explained - should be a prelude to a heavy revival of the productive activity of the territory and, consequently, encourage an increase in activities ports, for which, however, space and infrastructure are needed suitable". Gariglio announced that he had launched a discussion with the government to talk about the necessary interventions of infrastructure present in the Port Master Plan that provide for the narrowing of the Darsena, the creation of a west quay and the possibility of using new yards. Are interventions - he specified - to start which would be lacking today at the authorization level a ministerial decree between the Ministry Ministry of the Environment for clearance related dredging activities. "We trust - he added Gariglio - to receive the authorization within the next month", clarifying that to date, however, there is a lack of funds necessary to create the new port layout. Just as additional resources of about 50 million euros would be needed to the construction of a new quay to be used for activities of Metinvest: "we are moving forward with the activities of infrastructure design - explained Gariglio again - but there is no economic coverage to start the work". The president of the Port Authority highlighted that these issues are linked to Obviously to the future of the regasification terminal: "We have the need to know - he underlined - if and how much the ship regasification plant will still remain in port, because these information obviously impacts the port economy and the timing and ways of carrying out the interventions I have mentioned".

"We have a port - concluded the president of the Port System Authority - which is serving the national interests of the country from an energy point of view and that today also has to support strategic projects for the relaunch of the national steel industry. We are available for discussion with the government, but it is necessary that political decisions are also calibrated to the needs of local development. For For this reason, we believe it is of the utmost urgency to address together to the Municipality and other institutions the issue of compensation".

In his speech, the operations director of SNAM Energy Terminals, Carlo Mangia, recalled that from 4 July 2023 to today the regasification terminal of the port of Piombino received 91 gas vessels natural liquefied and plans to use by the end of 100% of its regasification capacity this year available. "The Piombino terminal, an asset today entirely Italian - underlined Mangia - is at the percentage the most used in Europe as FRSU and represents operational excellence." In addition, Mangia has highlighted that in the last four years liquefied natural gas has seen its impact on the coverage of cash flows increase gas entering Italy, going from 10% in 2021 to 32% in 2025, and that from January to October last year, LNG flows increased to national level of 42% on an annual basis and the contribution of Piombino has been decisive: in 2025 there have been carried out by Italis LNG 39 unloading from LNG carriers, Almost 20% of tanker loads carried out nationally at the five operational regasification terminals.