World News
Malta Wants to Expand its Bunkering Activity
An expansion of bunkering and other maritime activity is key to the development of the Malta economy, Jose Herrera, parliamentary secretary for competitiveness and economic growth, told the Malta Independent.
Herrera said the island nation's location gives it a strong competitive position for logistics.
"Why is the Freeport the fourth biggest in the EU?" Herrera said.
"We are 4km from one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and the Mediterranean carries 40% of world shipping."
The nation's Blue Economy strategy calls for the development of maritime sectors including bunkering, yachting, ship registration, and maritime financial services.
"Malta has always been recognised as a maritime centre, and the maritime sector currently contributes 14% of GDP," Herrera said.
Already, Malta has the largest ship registration office in Europe, due partly to rules that don't require returns to be audited and relatively low costs, as well as the nation's full compliance with International Maritime Organisation (IMO) standards.
Herrera said the nation wants to capitalize on the large registry by reintroducing Admiralty or Commercial courts to focus on maritime and business law.
Malta has been working to develop a maritime hub with bunkering facilities at Marsa.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 641.00 | 4.00 | 762.00 | 5.50 |
| Rotterdam | 599.00 | 1.00 | 751.00 | 0.50 |
| Houston | 629.50 | 2.00 | 802.50 | 6.50 |
| Fujairah | 647.50 | 2.00 | 883.50 | 5.50 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 661.50 | 3.50 | 859.00 | 5.00 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 629.50 | 1.00 | 799.50 | 1.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 719.00 | 3.50 | 915.00 | 7.50 |
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