A cruise liner carrying 1,600 passengers saw disembarkation at Deep Water Quay in Valletta yesterday delayed for an hour-and-a-half, after the Valletta Gateway Terminal port cargo operators prevented the deployment of gangways by placing containers on the edge of the quay, VISET Malta said.

In a statement, VISET Malta, operators of the cruise passenger terminal, expressed regret for the situation created whereby the Italian cruise liner MSC Sinfonia was unable to disembark on time.

The liner had all the necessary berthing clearances required by the Malta Maritime Authority (MMA), it said.

“The containers were placed by the Valletta Gateway Terminal’s port cargo operators, on the cope edge of the quay obstructing berthing operations, in defiance of orders given by the competent authorities,” said VISET Malta general manager Chris Paris.

“The ship berthed alongside the quay but was unable to put down the gangways to allow passengers to disembark.”

The containers were removed within an hour from the time the cruise liner berthed alongside Deep Water Quay 2, following interventions by VISET and MMA senior officials.

Mr Paris said VISET Malta and other stakeholders have been working hard to put Malta on the map as a favourite destination to attract cruise liners.

“Such an incident may not only compromise Malta’s reputable name abroad, but also discourage ship operators from doing business with Malta.”

VISET said that while it was unfortunate that the country would suffer the repercussions of such unsolicited and irresponsible behaviour, VISET, along with the competent authorities, looked forward to discuss viable solutions for an infrastructure that could meet the demand of future opportunities.

Speaking to this newspaper on site, Mr Paris had explained that the vessel in question had a displacement of 29,000 tonnes.

The quay in question is supposed to take 25,000 tonnes, but with necessary precautions, such as the use of a tugboat in berthing, it could handle the bigger tonnage.

Clearance for the vessel to berth there, in accordance with the agreement VISET has, was issued way in advance, and had even been confirmed by top brass on Thursday.