Malta Maritime Forum ¦ Consultation Meeting

Malta Maritime Sector

Finally, Cabinet gave the green light for the re-establishment of a national authority solely responsible for the Maritime Sector.

The Minister for Transport Dr Aaron Farrugia invites stakeholders to a Consultation Meeting on the demerger of Transport Malta into separate entities for land transport, aviation and maritime affairs.

The event is taking place at Xara Lodge, Rabat on 23 November.

Two years ago, ahead of a possible General Election, the Malta Maritime Forum took the initiative about the Transport Malta demerger and presented “A Maritime-Centred Electoral Manifesto” in person to the leaders of the Political Parties.

This was preceded that for some time, members of the Malta Maritime Forum noted that with the amalgamation of a number of entities and departments into Transport Malta, the priority required by the Maritime Industry on both the national and international levels had become diluted in other overall responsibilities covered by Transport Malta including Aviation and Transport where the latter alone includes, vehicle registrations, drivers licences, VRT stations, the road network, traffic management, road safety, the bus service and all aspects of public transport animals and animal drawn-vehicles.

From the MMF’s perspective, the country was ahead of time and ahead of its competition when it established a Malta Maritime Authority in 1991. This had provided Malta with a competitive edge over other important maritime jurisdictions within and outside the EU, which advantage has now been lost.

Members of the MMF are competing in a global village where specialisation is key, hence the Forum’s recommendation. And the fact that Government listens and acts on MMF’s advice sends the right message to the industry about Malta’s aspirations of consolidating its position on a global scale.

Being a part of the Maltese maritime community and agreeing with the proposal put forward by the MMF, Griffiths+Associates is participation in these discussions, our representative on Maritime Connections Worldwide, Liudmyla Skryvanek is attending the Meeting.

We will keep you posted with future updates.