Over the last five years, the number of ships calling in Maltese ports has increased by over 18 per cent, reaching almost 6,500 ships, while the corresponding gross tonnage has increased by over 40 per cent. This clearly shows that local ports have to cater not only for the increase in volumes, but more importantly for an increase in the size of vessels.
This has been mirrored by increases in cargo and passenger throughputs. The amount of dangerous and polluting goods carried, both in packaged form and in bulk, is also significant. Shipping traffic has also grown in the anchorage areas around Malta, which are primarily used by vessels receiving bunkers, carrying out minor repairs, effecting crew changes or receiving supplies and provisions. This kind of traffic has more than doubled during the last five years, and now amounts to almost 2,000 vessels per year.
With the introduction of bigger ships, an increase in speed and more efficient loading/unloading systems, maritime transport is becoming even more important. This efficiency is reflected in increases in the volumes of bulk and containerised cargoes that are being transported by sea. Passenger transportation has also become a very important pillar of the maritime industry, particularly with a cruise industry experiencing a sustained growth.
Nearly 500 million tonnes of goods pass through Mediterranean ports, with the European Union being by far Malta’s most important trading partner. The carriage of oil by sea in the Mediterranean is also substantial. It is estimated that some 800 oil tankers constantly ply the Mediterranean, and this means that there is very dense traffic in an area which is particularly sensitive from an environmental point of view. This extremely high volume of tanker traffic raises the possibility of a maritime accident occurring in the Mediterranean Sea – the impact of which would be significant – particularly in view of the fact that it is an almost enclosed sea.
However, it is not only tankers that we need to consider, nowadays. To give a typical example of how the shipping industry is developing, nowadays we have in service “sea giants” in the form of container ships of over 300 metres in length with a capacity of over 8,500 TEUs (twenty- foot equivalent units) and a service draft in excess of 14 metres. Such ships use ports in the Mediterranean both as transshipment hubs such as at Marsaxlokk, Gioia Tauro, Algericas, and as “gateway ports” for the rest of Europe such as Genoa, Marseille and Valencia.
Manoeuvring such large ships within the restricted waters of the ports, could, if not carried out professionally, result in environmental damage, to the vessels or port installations, and injuries to people. As already mentioned, the carriage of passengers by sea is also becoming even more important and reflects the expansion of the cruise industry and the increase in ferry traffic.
Hence, such developments require better port infrastructure, better cargo handling equipment, and a determined drive for continuous improvement of maritime traffic and port management in general.
Within this context it is good to note that REMPEC, The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Centre for the Mediterranean Sea, which is based here in Malta, has highlighted the fact that even though the Mediterranean Sea constitutes only 0.7 per cent of world oceans, it handles 22 per cent of the global maritime transport. These are indeed figures that place this sea of ours in a different dimension that demands particular attention at a regional level in the fields of maritime safety, maritime security and pollution prevention measures.
Malta is well aware of the risks associated with shipping and as we are located in the middle of the Mediterranean, we are also aware that the majority of such maritime traffic passes between Malta and Sicily, and as a consequence our shores are at times polluted by oil originating from illegal dumping from vessels navigating both through our waters and on the adjacent high seas.
On the other hand, recent research studies have shown that almost 14 per cent of Malta’s gross domestic product and its employment is related to maritime activities. Ports and maritime services have always played a very important role in the history and the economic development of Malta, mainly because of the islands’ geographical position. The importance of maritime activities has increased with the development of the manufacturing and tourism industries, as well as the emergence of international shipping services.
In recent years, Malta has upgraded its maritime package within a hub concept, and is now in a position to offer comprehensive maritime services, including facilities for the handling of all types of cargo and passengers, ship repair, bunkering and the provision of other maritime services. We are aware that such developments, however, pose some inherent risks to other sectors, since besides such shipping-related activities, Malta depends on the Mediterranean Sea for its water supply, fishing and fish-farming industry, the cooling of power stations, and various recreational activities. Therefore, we can easily say that a major oil pollution casualty close to Malta’s shores would definitely bring the islands to a complete standstill with disastrous consequences.
In this context, it is important to note that Malta is committed to enforcing the relative multi-disciplined legislation and to upgrading its administrative capacity in the environmental and maritime sectors, in order to ensure safer and cleaner waters. The government is well aware of the islands’ obligations as a coastal state. In this respect, my ministry is involved in putting forward recommendations for enhancing the existing legal regime, focusing on monitoring of shipping and the required mechanisms for preparedness, response and coordination in cases of sea pollution. Fortunately, technology is playing a very important role in enabling coastal state to honour their enforcement and monitoring tasks.
The Malta Maritime Authority has recently awarded a tender to a consortium to set up a Port VTS infrastructure. In simple terms, a VTS centre is the equivalent of an air traffic control centre, providing “vessel traffic services” to ships. The operators and supervisors working in the VTS will be professionally trained and will provide ships with updated port information and traffic management by means of a radar and Automatic Identification System (AIS).
The principal objective of the VTS is based on two principles: (a) the preservation of good order and (b) predictability through careful monitoring relating to the behaviour and movement of ships in order to minimise the risk associated with collisions and groundings. A second VTS tender is soon to be awarded by the MMA and this will extend the system to cover the entire coastal areas of the Maltese Islands.
The European Commission has recently published and is presently discussing the third Maritime Safety Package. The proposal includes a revision of Directive 2002/59/EC on vessel traffic monitoring and provisions obliging member states to consider providing places of refuge for ships in distress and to ships having difficulties at sea. Accommodating ships in difficulty in a port or place of refuge is highly dependent on the prevailing circumstances and weather conditions. Furthermore, the cause of a maritime incident is usually one or a combination of the following:
• Environmental factors;
• Equipment failure;
• Human error; and
• Organisational failures
Experience shows that environmental factors such as inclement weather are a primary source of concern – both for ships in difficulty, as well as for vessels attempting to provide assistance. Hence, one could conclude that a project such as WERMED, which targets the development of an experimental system for ship weather routing in the Mediterranean could provide both mariners and shore personnel involved in shipping, with more accurate weather data which can assist with navigation and passage planning at sea. This project would complement other measures that are being implemented in the field of maritime safety. From the commercial point of view, weather routing could also improve operational windows.
As an important flag-state, Malta supports such initiatives targeted at facilitating maritime transport. These should ideally be integrated with other EU projects having similar objectives to ensure cost effectiveness and maximum benefit for all stakeholders. In addition, these initiatives should maximise the availability of technology to compliment our human resources.
At the same time, Malta will continue to do its utmost to ensure that shipping operations are conducted safely and to safeguard the environment so that the Mediterranean Sea will continue to be beneficial in economic and social terms, to future generations.
Censu Galea is Competitiveness and Communications Minister