Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/740013
4 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2016 News Dwarna with Mariella Dimech every Tuesday at 21.00 on TVM2 LNG tanker's delayed entry suggests problems with mooring, PN warns TIM DIACONO THE delay in the berthing of the LNG tanker that will provide gas to the Delimara power station in Marsaxlokk Bay suggests that it has encountered problems with its mooring, the Nationalist Party has warned. Addressing a press conference at Marsaxlokk Bay, PN executive president and maritime law expert Ann Fenech questioned why the tanker is still berthed offshore de- spite having arrived in Malta over a week ago. The Armada LNG Mediterrana sailed into Marsaxlokk Bay on 10 October for sea trials. Ahead of its arrival, ElectroGas Malta, the con- sortium behind the power station, said that it will temporarily depart the port "for a few days" to carry out further familiarization and se- curity tests. However, Fenech said that the tanker would have returned to the bay had everything been fine, ar- guing that it is currently costing ElectroGas "thousands of euros a day" to berth the tanker offshore at Hurd's Bank. "From a commercial standpoint, it doesn't make sense that the tank- er hasn't entered the bay yet, unless it has encountered problems. In- deed, I am informed that it had en- countered problems when it tried to anchor to the storm moorings." She urged the government to in- stantly publish all the technical documents that the Planning Au- thority will have to analyse before granting the power station an In- tegrated Prevention and Pollution Control (IPPC) permit. The government has promised to publish the documents ahead of a period of public consultation by the Environment and Resources Authority that is set to commence tomorrow. However, Fenech argued that the documents should already be avail- able for public consumption, given that the government had published a notice in the Sunday newspapers to announce the start of the public consultation process. "The public has a right to analyse the maritime impact assessment, the quantitative risk analysis re- port, the safety reports, the emer- gency plans, and the major acci- dent prevention policy reports," she said. "It needs to know what dangers will arise if another ship crashes into the tanker, whether port operations will cease to func- tion once the tanker has been berthed, and what the effect will be on local fishermen." Moreover, she said that the way the government has gone about the public consultation has "made a mockery" of the EU's Seveso Direc- tive on the prevention of industrial accidents. "The Directive required the pub- lic consultation to be held before the construction of the power sta- tion and the arrival of the LNG tanker." Shadow energy minister Mar- these Portelli criticised the govern- ment for not reducing electricity tariffs in its Budget for next year, warning that such a failure had come as a "shock" to several social partners who had demanded fur- ther cuts. "The government could have eas- ily reduced electricity tariffs, given the efficiency of the BWSC power station, the cheap prices at which it is purchasing electricity from the interconnector, and the sharp drop in the international price of oil," she said. "A future PN government under Simon Busuttil will purchase electricity at the cheapest possible prices and will not be bound to pur- chasing it at higher rates from the [Delimara] power station." Armada LNG Mediterrana briefly entered Marsaxlokk Bay two weeks ago 368 cancer victims between January and May PAUL COCKS CANCER had claimed 368 peo- ple between January and May this year, of whom 209 were males and 159 females, and in- cluding one girl under 15 years of age and a male between 15 and 24 years of age, according to health minister Chris Fearne. Fearne, who was answering a parliamentary question put to him by MP Luciano Busuttil, said that the figure included all types of cancer, but noted that lung cancer caused most deaths among males, while breast cancer claimed the most lives among women. Data presented in parliament showed that, of the 209 men who died of cancer, another three were between 35 and 44 years old, 11 between 45 and 54 years old, 37 between 55 and 64 years old, 72 between 65 and 74 years old, 63 between 75 and 84 years old, and 22 were older than 85 years old. Of the 159 women, two were between 35 and 44 years old, eight between 45 and 54 years old, 19 between 55 and 64 years old, 49 between 65 and 74 years old, 50 between 75 and 84 years old, and 30 were older than 85 years old. The data showed that 936 peo- ple had died of cancer in 2015 (509 males and 427 females), 933 in 2014 (532 males and 401 females) and 870 in 2013 (466 males and 404 females). Deaths caused by smoking In reply to another PQ, Fearne also revealed that in 2015, 565 people had died because of smoking – 430 men and 135 women. The number of deaths caused by smoking remained relatively constant in the past few years, with 544 deaths registered in 2014, 520 in 2013 and 575 deaths caused by smoking registered in 2012.