Captain Morgan has applied to occupy the left side of Balluta Bay, taking public land for their exclusive use, NGO Moviment Graffitti has claimed. 

This application comes after the Planning Authority giving Captain Morgan the authority to operate a catamaran in Balluta Bay. 

Captain Morgan, which is owned by Fortina Group have decided to amend their existing application in order to permanently occupy the left side of the bay for its own operations. 

“Disguised as a “minor amendments procedure” to their approved application, Fortina is seeking permission from the PA to cordon off nearly the whole sea-level platform in Balluta Bay by setting up a continuous railing. Fortina would thus have exclusive use of this platform for its catamaran operations, with the public being denied accessibility to one of the last strips along the bay and, consequently, to the sea adjacent to it”, Graffitti said in a joint statement with the St. Julian’s local council and several other organisaitons. 

They stated that “the foreshore is historically public domain and that, therefore, it cannot be taken over by private speculative projects”. 

By applying the changes as ‘amendments’, Fortina are legally allowed to bypass the normal planning process and deprive anyone from its right to object the changes, they said. 

The St. Julians local council together with the other organisations argued that since the changes go beyond the originally planned are, “it is clearly not eligible to be processed under this procedure”. 

“The PA’s approval of Fortina’s catamaran in Balluta Bay was a shameful decision that is currently being appealed by several organisations and the St. Julian’s Local Council”, the statement reads. 

“The Zammit Tabonas are taking advantage of these difficult times, with many people locked inside their homes and struggling to cope with the pandemic, to continue expanding their occupation of public land and sea for their own private profits. The greed of the few rages unabated.” 

The organisations together with St Julian’s local council are; Din l-Art Helwa, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, Moviment Graffitti, Nature Trust Malta, Ramblers Association Malta, Rota and The Archaeology Society Malta.

Captain Morgan denies claims it is hindering public access

Captain Morgan is categorically denying claims made in the media that it is attempting to take over a larger part of the Balluta Bay shore “by stealth”.

At no point in the plans is Captain Morgan preventing the public from using the foreshore, or any parts of it, and this is clearly safeguarded by Transport Malta as one of the conditions of the permit.

The Minor Amendment update submitted by JBA, the architects for this project, faithfully reflects the original plans and contrary to what was claimed, it will actually lessen the impact on the nearshore seabed without hindering public access to the existing quayside.

Anybody bothering to go through the plans, will see that the minor amendment shows the structural dimensioning of the actual pontoon to be installed and the details of the fixity on the quay due to the Nature Permit renewal.

Fixity is a dowel grouted in the quay, and when works are complete this will not change the visual and physical characteristics of the existing quay.

A Minor Amendment cannot change the principle of the development, but may only change specific details, most of which would normally be necessitated at development stage due to technical/structural issues.

JBA reiterated that not only did the Minor Amendment not veer from the approved permit, but its description says: “Minor amendments include an update in the structural system of the pontoon. The pontoon’s footprint on the seabed has been decreased and the structural members shall be more slender. Structural details of the anchorage provided at the quay have also been provided.”

JBA also rebutted claims that the railing was being inferred to exclude the general public. The approved plans show that a railing was to be installed and made it amply clear that the railing will be compliant with the permit since “its sole purpose is for accessibility for all, which is a requirement”.