Due to Malta’s EU entry, which made Malta less fiscally attractive as a port, Pullmantur had shifted their vessels from Valletta to Tunis as from the beginning of this season. Many other cruise vessels have in fact left Malta in favour of the North African port and this has resulted in a very sharp fall of cruise passengers for Malta, but record figures for Tunis, a statement by Mondial Travel, Valletta port agents for the company, said yesterday.

This heavy demand for the Port of Tunis is creating huge congestion and logistic problems to that harbour and for this reason the Oceanic cannot be given a berth for its next call scheduled for tomorrow. For this reason, Pullmantur have turned over to our country in order to call at Valletta instead, with a possibility of returning to our harbour on a regular basis once again.

Notwithstanding the huge downturn in passenger figures experienced by the Port of Valletta since Malta’s EU entry, the Maltese government as well as the cruise terminal operators Viset, do not seem to be keen in having the S/S Oceanic back in Valletta, as the vessel was offered a berth in a location that can only be referred to as disastrous for cruise line passengers, Mondial said.

Rather than being berthed at the purposely-built Pinto Wharf, the Oceanic has been offered a berth at Laboratory Wharf, located across the Grand Harbour, near Kordin. This is a shabby and out of the way quay that is solely used for cargo ships, Mondial added. There is no way passengers can get to Valletta from Laboratory Wharf unless they take a bus or a taxi ride of 20 to 30 minutes. To add insult to injury, Pinto Wharf, which can normally take up to three large cruise liners, will be occupied by another cruise liner and two or three war ships!

Apparently both the Government and Viset think that warships are better than a 1,400-passenger cruise liner which brought around 110,000 Spanish passengers in two years, Mondial said. Perhaps it is a question of national priorities but it would be interesting to see what the people who earn their living from tourism and cruise ships think, it concluded.