Chemicals used to treat the hulls of ships have been discharged into the Grand Harbour without authorisation from the environmental authorities.
The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) said it had taken enforcement action against the operators in the area run by Palumbo Shipyards Malta.
Footage captured on Sunday and sent to Times of Malta this week shows a brown liquid extending from the shipyard in the Cottonera area of the Grand Harbour.
The liquid extends around part of the dock, winding past the stern of a cruise ship and to the side of a cargo vessel docked at the shipyards.
The brown liquid was still clearly visible by Monday.
An ERA spokesperson said it had investigated the area and confirmed an “unauthorised antifouling discharge” was being released by an operator in the area, adding the liquid was not oil.
Antifouling chemicals are used to treat the hulls of ships to prevent sea life such as barnacles, algae and molluscs from attaching themselves to the hull, thereby slowing down the vessel and increasing fuel consumption.
The authority ordered the operator to “immediately” remedy the situation and was taking “further enforcement actions”, the spokesperson said, adding the ERA would continue to monitor the operator “until the issue is fully resolved”.
“Once ERA officers were onsite the discharge was immediately stopped, and booms were also deployed to limit the spread,” he said. “The turbidity [how clear the water is] caused by the earlier discharge has since reduced significantly”, he said.
The spokesperson said discharging antifouling paint into the sea was not permitted and subject to enforcement action by the authority, adding such chemicals should be contained within the drydock and disposed of appropriately.
Industry sources told Times of Malta that Palumbo Shipyards Malta was responsible.
In a statement, Vincenzo Trimarco, responsible for quality, health, safety and environment at Palumbo said an internal assessment had identified a “potential issue” with the drydock’s filtration system.
This may have allowed “a limited amount of residue to escape,” he said.
“However, containment measures were in place and our environmental team acted immediately to contain everything in few hours, he said.
“Palumbo Shipyard Malta remains fully committed to environmental compliance and will continue to uphold the highest standards of environmental protection and cooperating with respective authorities.”
A Transport Malta (TM) spokesperson said that, as the company operated under an ERA-issued environmental permit, the authority would lead in “ensuring necessary mitigation measures are implemented”.
The spokesperson added that TM “will fully support ERA in this process”.