Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/870005
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2017 4 News Cruise ships visiting Malta among worst environmental and climate offenders MATTHEW VELLA TEN cruise ships belonging to four different ship operators which regularly visit Malta rank in the worst position in terms of their impact on the envi- ronment, health and climate, according to the 'Cruise Ship Ranking 2017' which was pub- lished yesterday in Hamburg. The list, which is compiled an- nually by German BirdLife part- ner NABU (The Nature and Bi- odiversity Conservation Union), ranks cruise ships in Europe ac- cording to their emissions and assesses pollution levels and en- vironmental performance. NA- BU is one of the oldest and larg- est environment associations in Germany. The ranking includes a total of 34 cruise ship operators cur- rently travelling in Europe and operating on heavy fuel oil. It classifies their vessels ac- cording to their efforts in cutting pollution. The 10 cruise ships that regularly visit Malta during the season belong to the cruise lines AIDA, MSC, TUI and Vi- king – all rank in the worst cate- gory. Two of these ships even fly the Maltese flag since they are registered in Malta with Malta's Valletta Cruise Port being their home port. All of these berth regularly in Valletta and spend a decent amount of time in Grand Har- bour. The total hours spent in harbour in Malta vary between a minimum of 16 and a maxi- mum of 128 while in 2017 these ships between them will have visited Malta no fewer than 65 times (see attached list). Placed in this category, named as 'Rank 12', effectively means that they have the worst im- pact on the environment, health and climate compared to other cruise liners. One should note that only five of the 34 cruise lin- ers in the ranking are not in this worst position, based on their ecological performance. The ranking shows that de- spite multiple claims, the cruise ship industry's attitude to the environment remains poor. BirdLife Malta is currently part of a project run by NABU together with other Mediter- ranean environmental NGOs working to raise awareness on air pollution from ships through activities and information shar- ing among stakeholders and the general public. The project "Together Against Air Pollution from Ships" has the long-term goal of establishing a network among Mediterranean countries supporting the crea- tion of an Emission Control Area (ECA) in the Mediterranean Sea. Such an emission control area at sea would improve air qual- ity by demanding that all ships operating within the Mediterra- nean use cleaner fuels. In these sea areas stricter controls are es- tablished to minimize airborne emissions from ships. Ships are obliged to switch to cleaner fuel when going through these areas. "BirdLife Malta believes that having an ECA in the Mediter- ranean will be very beneficial for the health of Malta's citizens, as well as environment and climate in general in Malta," the NGO said. Cruise Ship Ranking compiled by BirdLife's German partner ranks cruise ships according to impact on the environment, health and climate MATTHEW VELLA A series of police raids took place early yesterday afternoon in the area near the migrant open centre in Marsa and the parish square. Marsa is home to a size- able number of asylum seekers, mainly sub-Saharan nationals, who are released from detention. Footage from Net TV shows police walking up to black people walking in Marsa and demand- ing to see identification papers. Recently, a raid that led to the checking of 84 persons by immi- gration police in Marsa for docu- ments was branded as being an act of racial profiling. But all per- sons checked were found to be carrying the correct documents and were released. Then home affairs minister Carmelo Abela rejected sugges- tions that the move was sparked by comments made by PN dep- uty leader Beppe Fenech Adami, who told parliament that Marsa residents were "living in fear" of mainly African migrants living in the nearby open centre, and cheap housing in the area. Now a group of Marsa resi- dents will on Sunday morning hold a "solidarity walk" in the wake of concerns about a dis- regard for the law by African immigrants in their town. The Facebook event wants to pres- sure the government to take ac- tion and to "give Marsa residents their dignity back". The Malta Independent report- ed at least three police vans mak- ing the rounds close to the Marsa church and Triq is-Sajjieda. One man was seen being taken away by the police in handcuffs. The raids were said to be car- ried out in a bid to ensure so called 'third country nationals' are working lawfully and have all permits in order. But the raid comes ahead of a protest being organised in Mar- sa against loitering of migrants waiting to be picked up for odd jobs, and other deleterious ef- fects of homelessness in the area. The New Tiger Bar, already the scene of a massive police raid in which both Maltese and non- Maltese nationals were arrested, was also raided. Some 10 members of the Rapid Intervention Unit carried out the raid at the bar, with no resist- ance being met. The operators of the nearby Tavern Take-Out, who are of African origin, were then ordered by the RIU officers to clear the tables and chairs en- croaching on the pavement out- side: perhaps one of Malta's most egregious afflictions by restau- rants across the island. Racially-profiled police swoop takes place ahead of Marsa protest Photo of the New Tiger raid in August. Photo: James Bianchi