EMEA News
Malta Government Seeks Return of Oil Spill Response Equipment
The government of Malta is seeking the return of oil-spill-fighting equipment worth €20 million ($28 million) from private firm Alpha Briggs Mediterranean Ltd. (Alpha Briggs), Malta Today reports.
Under a 2007 agreement with Malta's Civil Protection Department (CPD), Alpha Briggs was to warehouse and maintain the equipment and was permitted to use it for free in its commercial services, but was obliged to pay CPD 30 percent of its net revenues from those services.
However, the Maltese government says it has never received payment from the company.
The 15-year agreement also called for Alpha Briggs to make the equipment available to Malta in case of emergency, but the government now says most of the equipment appears to be located in Piraeus, Greece and might not be able to be moved to Malta in time to fight a possible spill.
The government is now calling for the attorney general to investigate the agreement and determine a course of action.
Alpha Briggs has eight response bases along shipping routes from the Suez to Gibraltar and has contracts with the governments of Malta and Egypt, according to its website.
