There is scope to improve the performance of the public entities involved in operations related to the prevention and dealing with pollution from ships at sea and in ports, the Auditor General stated in a report submitted to Parliament today.  

The statutory certification of ships and ship inspections contribute towards the prevention of marine pollution worldwide.  The Merchant Shipping Directorate (MSD) of the Malta Maritime Authority is responsible for these operations.

The MSD was not effectively monitoring the status of statutory certification of Maltese registered ships.  The randomly selected ships held valid statutory (survey) certificates/endorsements.  However, the risk exists that the MSD may not become immediately aware if any of its ships are in fact not covered by valid certification, and consequently it may not be in a position to take timely corrective action.

The required coverage of ship inspections was not fully attained.  Moreover, targeting criteria were not based on a risk-weighted system that took into consideration all the relevant factors. There were weaknesses in internal controls, particularly related to the foreign inspectors engaged to perform inspections on Maltese ships overseas.  

The MSD developed plans to ensure that ships sailing under the Malta flag maintain the required safety and pollution prevention standards.  Initiatives include an extensive project within the national EU pre-accession programme.  These efforts should continue to improve the risk ranking of the Malta Flag, which is currently rated as a medium risk on the Paris Memorandum of Understanding’s Black List of flag States. 

Malta’s response to deal with pollution from ships in the surrounding sea and in its ports is documented in the National Marine Pollution Contingency Plan (NMPCP).  Ownership of the NMPCP became unclear following the transfer, in March 2002, of the Environment Protection Department from the former Ministry for the Environment to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA).  Currently, the Authority falls within the remit of the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment.   

It is not clear whether the NMPCP has been officially approved, and follow-up of recommendations emerging from the 1999 simulation exercise, have not yet been carried out.  A major disaster scenario has not been tested.   

The Auditor General proposed various recommendations to complement current efforts to upgrade the Malta Maritime Authority’s control regime.  Stress was made on the importance of establishing clear lines of accountability and ongoing commitment by the respective government entities.  In addition, it was recommended that issues relating to the ownership, approval, development, management and operations of the National Marine Pollution Contingency Plan need to be addressed and resolved as a matter of priority.