Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1537913
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 JULY 2025 NEWS Marsaxlokk local council feels ignored by Transport Malta over water taxi inaction NEAR the southernmost tip of the Maltese archipelago lies a fishing village that has been tied with seafaring activities for cen- turies. Marsaxlokk, known for its colourful luzzus and Sunday fish market, has long been pop- ular among tourists—it is a standard postcard depiction of traditional Malta. But speaking to MaltaToday, its local council describes a seafront that has grown "too dense with business interests." Among the problems plagu- ing the seafront is the chaotic presence of water taxis that give customers a tour of Marsax- lokk Bay and other areas on the other side of Delimara. On a hot Wednesday morn- ing, MaltaToday was invited to witness the chaos first hand. As the locality's mayor Steven Grech points out, the problem with the water taxis is the lack of clear regulations and en- forcement, which leads to op- erators doing as they please. Grech explains that the wa- ter taxi operators are given a berthing point by Transport Malta (TM) and are supposed to stay within five metres of it. The problem, he explains, aris- es from TM's refusal to tell the local council the location of each berthing point. According to Grech, the au- thority cited "data protection" concerns, despite the council only needing the location of each point, and not who it be- longs to. The mayor is joined by Daniel Zerafa, a PL local councillor, who also speaks of the chaos that is characterising the lo- cality's front. They both agree, like the rest of the council, that the best solution is to create a single point for all operators to advertise their services. This, they point out, reduces bickering among the opera- tors, who are known to be ag- gressively competitive. Grech and Zerafa note that it's not the first time that operators encroach beyond their points and steal customers from one another. This leads to some operators hurling insults to- wards one another. One par- ticular disagreement erupted into a fist fight that was widely shared on social media earlier this summer. Meanwhile, the water taxi op- erators openly admit that they encroach beyond their fixed points. While strolling along the seafront, the mayor points out an operator whose sign is obstructing the path, and asks the man to explain to this newspaper why he is doing this. "If the others move into the middle of the path, then so will I. I have to make a living," he sums up. The mayor tells this newspa- per that he is tired of trying to fix the issue while having his complaints fall on what he de- scribes as TM's deaf ears. Grech notes that despite having little power to act, residents, fisher- men, water taxi operators, and hawkers all come to him with their grievances. "You have to be crazy to want to be mayor," he jokes, noting the massive pressures and few rewards tied to his job. Grech confesses that the issue with the water taxi operators is the straw that broke the camel's back, urging authorities to act and regulate the chaos in his locality. Meanwhile, Zerafa tells this newspaper that those in the local council aren't the only ones that have grown sick of the chaos. "The residents have had enough and I don't blame them," he says. He quips that unlike centralised authorities, people like him are the ones that truly know what residents are feeling, saying that locals call him "Marsaxlokk's KGB" due to his constant presence at the seafront. Replying to MaltaToday's questions, TM said that it is now working closely with the local council on the issue. The authority stated the local coun- cil was present during meet- ings with TM, the Transport Ministry, the OPM, police, and water taxi operators. TM further explained that it will be sharing the mooring locations with the local coun- cil. The authority said that it is "making its utmost to en- sure that operators are treated equally". It added that certain information, which goes be- yond the scope of the task at hand and which might preju- dice or be used against other operators, however, will not be shared. It claimed that enforcement on the seafront was "robust- ly stepped up," adding that it warned the operators to abide by regulations. "Several in- spections were carried out, re- sulting in fines being issued to those in breach." MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Among the problems plaguing the seafront is the chaotic presence of water taxis (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)