On World Maritime Day last September, during an event organised by the Malta Maritime Forum (MMF), Transport Minister Chris Bonett announced that the government was launching the formulation of a ‘National Maritime Transport Strategy’ in collaboration with the Maritime Forum and the key stakeholders in the maritime industry.
The MMF welcomed this announcement because the development of a maritime transport strategy was and is one of the leading objectives of the Forum. The minister also announced the appointment of Karmenu Vella, the former European commissioner, to coordinate the development and drafting of this strategy.
The MMF engaged immediately with Vella, who, together with his collaborators, extended full disposition to the Forum and reached out to other stakeholders to ensure that the strategy reflects the future needs of the country, as well as of the industry it represents.
This strategy could not have been better timed. First of all, the country is preparing an over-arching economic strategy, ‘Malta Vision 2050’, and a specific blueprint for the maritime industry is intended to fit in the national economic vision with a view to consolidate its position as a worthy economic pillar in its own right.
The vision is for the maritime industry to serve as a horizontal “enabler” for the entire economy and its people in supporting the import and export activity of raw materials, finished goods, commodities and, of course, the movement of people by sea.
The timing of the strategy is also opportune because the maritime industry is facing significant challenges related to digitalisation and decarbonisation. The twin digital transitions, as they are commonly referred to, are already bringing about major changes affecting industry players – changes in regulations, technology, fuels, infrastructure and the skills needed to cope with this entire transformation.
The Forum believes that in the same way that a private business cannot function without a proper business plan, industry, on a national level, needs to have a clear vision and strategy that takes into account, not only its strengths and capabilities, but also the challenges that its environment presents. This is even more so in the case of the maritime industry which is today recognised as one of the pillars on which the Maltese economy is based.
Consequently, the government and the Forum have already agreed in principle that the end result of this exercise should be a robust business plan supported by a well-defined action plan detailing what needs to be done, by who and by when. The two sides also agreed that this has to be a fully-fledged consultative process with all stakeholders to ensure that the plan covers every aspect of the industry. We expect this strategy to clearly outline the country’s vision for our industry and spell out both the short-term and long-term goals.
Education and training institutions are crucial in ensuring that the industry is armed with the necessary talent to drive the vision
Naturally, one hopes that the vision and goals outlined inthis document will follow the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable…) approach so that targeted improvements in competitiveness or capacity, such as port efficiency for example, are specific to help identify what results are expected, by whom and by when. This will allow monitoring of the desired progress, prompting any necessary action to ensure the vision and strategy remain on track.
The declared vision and goals must serve as a guide to those of us who invest and work in this industry. The direction agreed between the industry and the authorities will enable more timely and efficient decisions by all stakeholders that will ultimately support the country in achieving the very goals outlined in the strategy.
For example, in terms of decarbonisation, the strategy is expected to outline the country’s direction for alternative fuels with the onset of ongoing innovation and research. Stakeholders in maritime transport, ship repair, bunkering, terminal operators and infrastructure contractors cannot afford to miss the boat and must seek to build the necessary resources including skills to stay in the game.
Malta’s new maritime transport strategy must not only address the industry players but reach out to wider stakeholders in the field.
Education and training institutions are crucial in ensuring that the industry is armed with the necessary talent to drive the vision. The strategy must give more prominence to ocean literacy within the national curriculum to give young people more exposure to the importance of maritime issues in our lives as island citizens, as well as to raise awareness about the exciting and rewarding opportunities the industry has to offer. The current starlack of awareness is causing young Maltese people to give no consideration for maritime careers – both seafaring and land-based – thus missing out on the excellent specialised courses that are available to them.
Furthermore, the career paths, accreditation systems and schemes related to cadetships need to be addressed in the strategy with a view to achieve better clarity and streamlining. Increased collaboration between local and foreign academic institutions, the exchange of best practices and enhanced specialised applied research could all contribute towards a more competitive maritime workforce.
In terms of digitalisation, the Forum believes that Malta must have a strategy that leverages on technology, automation and AI to overcome the challenge of talent shortages and skills gaps which is already weighing down considerably on all sectors within our industry. Digitalisation will support the decarbonisation goal but is also key to ensure that the industry is able to continue to deliver career opportunities within the new socio-economic realities that the Maltese labour market is facing.
Given the depth and width that this strategy has to harness, the vital basic principle remains that of consultation. This exercise entails as wide a consultative process as possible because there is no single sector from within the maritime industry that can be overlooked. Rather the success of the strategy lies in capturing and reflecting the vision that each sector has and the challenges that the future presents.
The Forum maintains that the development of a new maritime strategy for Malta represents a crucial step towards securing a sustainable and prosperous future for this industry, as well as for the well-being of the nation at large.
By addressing key challenges such as digitalisation, infrastructure development, workforce training, global partnerships and, above all, environmental sustainability, the strategy must offer a comprehensive roadmap for harnessing and consolidating Malta’s full potential as a leading global player in maritime affairs.
Godwin Xerri is the chairperson of the Malta Maritime Forum.