Minister suggests yacht marina at St Paul's Bay

It was time for the Malta Maritime Authority to reconsider the possibility of providing yacht marina facilities in St Paul's Bay so as to meet strong demand for berths, Communications Minister Censu Galea told parliament yesterday.

The possibility of such facilities being offered in a bay in Gozo should also be considered since there was not enough space for yachts at Mgarr, the minister said during the debate on the financial estimates of the MMA.

He said demand for yacht berths had continued to rise despite the opening of private marina facilities at Cottonera and Portomaso and the growth of the facilities at Msida, Ta' Xbiex and Manoel Island.

The MMA had recently taken action against yacht owners who had not paid their berthing dues, he said, and such actions would continue.

In his speech Mr Galea spoke on various aspects of the MMA's operations, saying that the Maltese merchant flag was increasingly earning a good reputation. Those who cast doubts and came to Malta to see how the MMA's Merchant Shipping Directorate operated always left satisfied with what they saw.

Despite a high rate of inspections, the detention rate of Maltese flagged ships had dropped from 17 to six per cent in a short span of years, he said, and Malta was working to be removed from the black list of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding.

The fact that Lino Vassallo, head of the Merchant Shipping Directorate, had been elected to the executive of the International Maritime Organisation was further proof of the respect in which Malta was held.

Turning to the operations of the Ports Directorate, Mr Galea said port state control had been improved.

He said port workers had seen their income rise over the past few years. It now needed to be ensured that all those who worked in the ports contributed to improve competitiveness. The need for reform in port operations had long been felt and all port users and the trade unions should contribute for the success of such reforms.

No one should be afraid of reform. Those areas which had already been reformed, such as pilotage, had seen an improvement in operations and workers' income. Talks were currently being held with mooring men and other sectors, and he was sure similar results could be achieved.

Companies which operated in the port needed to understand their responsibilities to the economy as a whole and not focus solely on their own commercial interests.

Mr Galea said port charges should be as justified and one could not expect to pay anyone for work which was not done.

The minister also spoke on capital projects by the MMA, currently focused on harbour works in Cirkewwa and Mgarr. He said marine works in the latter had been completed and that in Cirkewwa would hopefully be completed by summer, enabling the ferries to use two quays at Cirkewwa simultaneously.

He said work on the new terminal at Mgarr was proceeding at a slower pace than planned, but was expected to pick up. At Cirkewwa, work on the terminal still had to start but it would be ensured that high standards would be attained.