For 10 long years, we have waited for action to be taken regarding the fact that Palumbo Shipyard Ltd leasing the Malta Dockyards was found to be dumping large amounts of waste in the yard.
In 2013 and 2014, professional aerial photos of waste, causing serious sea contamination near Dock no. 6, led enforcement officers to collect waste samples. They found dirty used grit dumped in a large 5,000 square metre area of the Cospicua dockside. This had been recently hidden under a layer of concrete!
The fact that CEO Antonio Palumbo was indicted by a Messina court and kept under house arrest in 2013 for criminal association in committing crimes against the environment and illegal dumping of shipping waste at Palumbo’s Italian shipyards added to our concerns for the health and safety of the thousands of Cottonera residents and workers [Palumbo was later acquitted of those charges by a court of appeal].
Years after the publication of these findings, we were assured by the environment minister that the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) would meet without further delay regarding this issue. His promise was not kept. Thus, we decided to take action with the ombudsman on this breach of waste regulations and other issues.
Cottonera resident group Azzjoni Tuna Artna Lura (ATAL) – together with several non-governmental organisations – delivered a petition to the ombudsman in 2020 to investigate the government’s contractual obligations with the Palumbo Group, to ensure compliance with Malta’s laws and regulations.
Only one issue raised was resolved. The two oil rigs that had for years spoiled the Grand Harbour’s vista were towed out of Palumbo shipyards in spring 2021, following an order by the ombudsman.
On the issue of waste dumping, the ombudsman’s office said this was within the remit of the EPRT. The EPRT is apparently an autonomous authority that combines investigative, adjudicative and sanctioning roles, including a system of administrative penalties that should include “appropriately effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions” (EU Directive 2015/849).
Our quality of life is under siege and we demand transparency and accountability
The EPRT finally confirmed in July 2023 that the dumping of grit-blasting waste was in breach of regulations and that Palumbo was well aware of its obligations to clean the site and export the materials. The EPRT upheld the charges that Palumbo Shipyard is guilty of changing land use to a permanent ‘landfill’ and of activity without a licence, breaching article 58 of the Protection of the Environment Act.
However, the EPRT did not decide to enforce this very belated decision through penalties. Believe it or not, the EPRT instead sanctioned the PA, giving it 30 days to amend its enforcement notice by deleting any reference to Palumbo Shipyard breaching waste-management regulations.
It takes one’s breath away to read such a contortion of justice!
Wearing kid’s gloves, the EPRT gave Palumbo Shipyard an indefinite time period to provide a method statement on how to deal with the waste. After this, it will have six months to ensure removal.
The main question that arises from this saga of delays, deferrals and denials of environmental contamination is: who is in control, the Maltese government or Palumbo Shipyard Ltd? The second more general question is: when will health and safety at work and for residents be more important than profit?
We asked minister after minister, the ombudsman and all relevant authorities to provide evidence that the government is undertaking its contractual duty to bi-annually review the operations at Palumbo Shipyard (operated jointly with MSC Cruises Ltd since 2020). Yet, to this day, we have no answer as to whether the shipyard’s extensive operations – which cause so much strain on the residents’ health and environment – are being regularly reviewed, and by whom.
We have been asking for monitoring and enforcement for 10 years now. And we will ask again and again till our right to know is addressed. We want to know what operational reviews have been conducted and we want them to be made public. Our quality of life is under siege and we demand transparency and accountability.
Yana Mintoff BlandYana Mintoff Bland is an activist with Azzjoni Tuna Artna Lura.