Ansep - Unitam

ANSEP-UNITAM is the association joining, at national level, the firms working in the field of the Harbour Ecological Facilities and Marine Habitat Protection.

It was set up in May 1999 from the merging of two pre-existent associations: ANSEP – the Harbour Ecological Facilities National Association – and UNITAM – Firms’ National Association for the Marine Habitat Protection.

Today this association has 40 Partners which represent the firms working in most of all the Italian harbours. These firms have hundreds of both earth and nautical means as well as a manpower of more than 2500 units.

The Association has a  legal status and can rely on solid co-operation with (is now strengthening the relationship with) the different Public Bodies both at national (Ministry of the Environment and Environmental Protection, Ministry of Transports and Facilities) and local (Harbour Association – National Association of the Italian Harbour Authorities, Confitarma, etc) levels as well as the Organisations involved in the harbour activities; it joins the Confetra (Italian General Association of Transports and Logistics), and Euroshore (Association of Shore Reception Facilities in Europe and Beyond); this body organizes, at European level, enterprises, projects and relationships between the European Community and the Member countries in order to reach homogeneous solutions for the protection and safeguard of the sea and all the protected Areas of the Marine Parks.

The aims of the Association are as follows:

-         to protect the Partners’ interests in the activities of protection and safeguarding of sea and environment and environmental safety in harbours;

-         to act for the Partners towards private citizens, Public Authorities, Italian Government and European Community;

-         to improve the competence and the quality of the services offered by the Partners, by encouraging the exchange of experiences, studies and research, organizing meetings, workshops, vocational and qualifying courses as well as publishing specialized tests and informative “magazines”.

According to these purposes, in the last few years the efforts of the Association have focused on the research of solutions and improvement of the quality and safety standards of the partner firms; furthermore, a number of actions at local and national level have been carried out to make the involved bodies aware of these problems which are too often underestimated.

The Association wishes to firmly co-operate with all the bodies and associations which are aware of  the different local problems and systems, standardize and simplify the relevant regulations at national level; the measures should be taken having regard to the needs of the service-users, distinctive characteristics of each single harbour, operational methodologies and everything in connection with the activities of the partner firms.

In the last few years, in order to awaken the public opinion and operators, the association has organized several meetings on the sea health and development of the environment technologies oriented to the prevention of sea pollution and the relevant environmental damages. Furthermore, it has its own magazine “I PORTI D’ITALIA” where articles concerning harbour ecological facilities and marine habitat protection are published periodically.