The international maritime industry is at a crossroads, with environmental concerns related to emissions and sustainability, compliance with increasingly stringent regulations, limited human resources, rising operational costs, cybersecurity threats, geopolitical tensions affecting trade routes, and the need for digital transformation to enhance efficiency and competitiveness.
Though this bleak scenario is also true for the Maltese maritime industry, being a resourceful country with a solid jurisdiction, Malta has all the elements to transform these challenges into opportunities for growth.
In this context, the primary function of the Malta Maritime Forum is to “fly the flag” of the local maritime industry, ad to consult and be consulted by the authorities on all issues affecting its members.
It prides me to say that, in a relatively short period of time, our Forum has truly established itself as a champion of maritime transport policy with local and European authorities. In fact, as we celebrate our first decade of existence, we have quite a lot to show for our efforts in pushing forward the maritime agenda with our political leaders.
The Forum has often highlighted to the authorities the prerequisites needed to enhance Malta’s role as a regional centre of excellence
A DEDICATED MARITIME COURT
For a few years, in fact, we have advocated the setting up of the maritime court and we are reliably informed that Government is in its final preparations to implement this decision to complement the country’s role in the global maritime field. Indeed, Malta’s ambitions and aspirations in this regard are now clearly documented in the Malta Vision 2050 economic blueprint recently published.
The Forum has often highlighted to the authorities the prerequisites needed to enhance Malta’s role as a regional centre of excellence. To this end, in light of the expanse and breath of maritime cases, the increasing specialisation in maritime law and the expectations of the industry, a dedicated maritime court is indeed a crucial requirement in the commendable international aspirations of the country.
SHIFTING ROAD TO WATERBORNE TRAFFIC
We were also extremely pleased to hear the recent announcement by the Hon Minister Chris Bonett that Government is seriously considering the implementation of another proposal of ours to set up a dedicated ro-ro cargo service between Malta Freeport, Valletta Grand Harbour and Gozo.
I am heartened by the positive reaction that we have received from importers and exporters particularly those established in Gozo because they are the main ones who, today, have to go through long delays and high costs to get the delivery of their cargoes.
Equally encouraging are the pronouncements made by the same Hon. Minister to introduce the necessary reforms to facilitate the undertaking of logistics activities to a 24 hour basis and thereby contributing to the reduction in emissions caused by heavy vehicles used for the transport of cargo.
The Forum believes in these initiatives which have given positive results in countries where such measures have been adopted. The case of the link for the transport of cargo from Freeport and Valletta to Gozo definitely needs more in depth analysis to establish the financial resources required to invest not only in the vessel required but also in the port infrastructure necessary to operate such a service. Nevertheless, we believe that on a macro level, taking all the elements into consideration, the overall benefits outweigh the financial investment requited.
The preliminary analysis has shown that millions of cubic meters of carbon dioxide will be saved from Malta’s environment by reducing the traffic which today moves from Marsaxlokk to Cirkewwa to deliver cargo. On the issue of extending logistics services throughout the whole day is another proposal that we have advocated and which the authorities are considering very actively.
millions of cubic meters of carbon dioxide will be saved from Malta’s environment by reducing the traffic which today moves from Marsaxlokk to Cirkewwa to deliver cargo
The MMF very responsibly studies such proposals based on empirical data and in this case, the statistics of container release from Malta Freeport and trailer release from Valletta Gateway Terminal, are highly concentrated to peak hours which generally conflict with rush hours congestions that inevitably clog our roads at certain times of the day. These are effective contributions that the Maltese maritime industry can make to Malta’s environment.
A NATIONAL MARITIME TRANSPORT STRATEGY
The formulation of a National Maritime Transport Strategy was another subject matter regularly promoted by the MMF and which received favourable consideration by the authorities. This is the “business plan” that will define where we want to be in the coming years and the action plan required for the Industry to achieve the goals and objectives that Maritime Malta requires. We believe that the formulation of the strategic plan will be a success if it spells out Government’s vision and goals for the maritime sector for the years to come taking into account the aspirations, expectations and ambitions of the private maritime industry. Agreement has been reached already on a basic principle – this will not be another study , but a vibrant action plan with its KPI’s to measure its progress and delivery.
The formulation of a National Maritime Transport Strategy was another subject matter regularly promoted by the MMF and which received favourable consideration by the authorities
During an event which the Forum organised on the occasion of World Maritime Day in September 2024, we were clearly more than delighted to hear the Minister announce that Government was embarking on the articulation of a new Maritime Strategy for Malta and that the MMF would serve as the main interlocutor on the Industry’s behalf with Perit Karmenu Vella who had been tasked with coordinating this project. Moreover, after participating actively in comprehensive discussions leading to the articulation of the Strategy, our Forum took further pride in the fact that the draft strategic document was first presented for wider consultation during an MMF event organised on the back of our Annual General Assembly last May, 2025.
The consultation process leading to the next phase of consultation augurs well for the extensive work that is required to ensure that every sector within the maritime industry is consulted, its views and aspirations are noted and addressed. From here on, after having shared the vision document with our members, we will continue to contribute our ideas and suggestions whilst actively following progress on the set milestones particularly in the area of value-chain and competitiveness enhancing measures. It is our mission to ensure that the identified obstacles are overcome and the set objectives are met so that we can build on the strength that we inherited from those who threaded this path before us.
It is our mission to ensure that the identified obstacles are overcome … so that we can build on the strength that we inherited from those who threaded this path before us
In closing, I hope you find value in this esteemed publication and invite you to connect with our Forum to take advantage of our role and services.