ISSUE 3 2011
MALTA FEATURE
services – some of which have recently been chartered for humanitarian aid voyages to Libya. The shipyards have now been fully privatised and generate a certain amount amount of freight traffic into Malta – not so much the vessel repairs but internal refurbishment of cruise ships and ferries.
Cargo traffic is fairly steady in Valletta. It’s not a market that changes radically from year to year, although lately the situation in Libya has hit the car transhipment trade. However, when and if the situation there changes, it could of course come back more strongly than before as aid and rebuilding materials flow in.
port that have been on the back burner. It’s maybe time to look at some of the inner harbour areas like the old coal wharf and some of the old shipyard areas.” One possibility is to relocate the existing small petroleum terminal, extend the berth and turn it into a multi-purpose cargo terminal. The ability to multi- task is important in a small port
when a couple of extra cruise berths would be useful; however, outside these times they could be used for berthing other vessels, though probably not for cargo loading operations.” The berth space would also come in useful for vessels used on some of Virtu Ferries’ seasonal Mediterranean
Meanwhile, ro ro business is trending upwards, says VGT managing director, Peter Darley. Virtually all the island’s ro ro business comes to Valletta, rather than the Freeport and indeed Valletta now handles around 60% of the business destined for Malta itself, with only 40% going to the Freeport. Five years ago the proportions were the other way around, he points out. “It’s a very convenient service. Our dwell time is measured in minutes, not days.” VGT will refurbish the rest of the Deepwater quay, following
on from the opening of the Virtu ferries terminal. The 1964-built facility is badly in need of a repair, says Peter Darley, adding: “We’re hoping work will start this year.” However, even when refurbished Deepwater would be unable to handle heavy cargoes, though it could deal with ro ro traffic. Peter
Darley is though
sceptical that any major new container facilities could be created in Valletta. “There has been a plan to create one for a very long time at Ras’Han Zir. I’ve looked at it, but the cost is far too great for any likely return. It might be viable to put in dolphins and turn it into a tanker berth but that’s about all.”
Cutting away cliffs to create space for a container yard would be prohibitively expensive, he says, and the types of short-sea container trade Valletta would be likely to attract are not the
21 Valletta’s volume holds up despite Libya crisis
best paying. As it is, the existing Valletta container terminal handles 1-2 sailings a week, including boxes carried on the weather deck of the Messina Line ro ro ships that ply between Italy, Malta and, normally, Libya. He adds that it is a pity that some other areas, such as Flagstone Wharf and a former shipyard area - that would have been idea for heavy cargo or off-site storage respectively - are likely to be turned into yacht marinas instead.
But these grumbles aside, Darley is quite optimistic about the future of Valletta port. “We’re expecting a surge in general cargo this year – there is
a lot of civil engineering
work going on in Malta at the moment thanks to EU-funded projects so we’re expecting an increase of maybe 20-30%. And if the war in Libya stops, who knows?”
However, longer term Valletta port is looking at expansion of its freight activities, says Transport Malta’s ports chief officer, David Bugeja. “An expansion of the container terminal at Laboratory Wharf is on the drawing board,” he explains. If it was just a matter of creating the necessary quay space it would be an easy matter but finding space for a container yard in such in a crammed – and in parts historically significant – area is another matter. “There are hopes for an improvement in the economic situation and while it may not take place within the next 12 months or so, it’s seen as important to the development of the port of Valletta,” Bugeja says. He points out, further, that now that some other aspects of the port’s development such as the Virtu Ferries and cruise terminals have been attended to, “we now maybe can analyse and improve those areas of the
serving an island community. The new Virtu Ferries Terminal
at Valletta’s deepwater quay has settled down well and by all accounts is well liked by the operator, says David Bugeja. “It provides local operators and industry with another alternative for freight, alongside Malta Motorways
of the Sea and
Grimaldi Genova.” Valletta Gateway Terminals, which operates the new terminal, has given Virtu exclusive use of the new terminal; Virtu’s high-speed vessels need specialised high fendering and, moreover, Malta is their base for maintenance. Virtu’s old berth at Pinto Wharf will most likely be turned over to the island’s burgeoning cruise industry, says Bugeja, a sector that in time might well take over other unused or underused quays in the port. “There are certain days in the peak season
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