Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/897139
maltatoday SUNDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2017 4 News CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 "The Dimitra's crew was not found guilty, and the only pending matter was the return of the money deposited with Customs after taking consignment of the vessel," Piscopo said. The vessel was, in fact, returned to Piscopo two years after its seizure in 2013, after a Customs surveyor valued the vessel and the fuel it was carrying at €35,000 and €13,678 respectively. The Customs Department con- firmed that Piscopo presented two drafts with the respective amounts to replace the seized goods and provide a guarantee on any legal claim made in their regard. While Piscopo was in court with his claim against Customs, the Dimitra was already sold off. Piscopo intends appealing the deci- sion, saying he wants his money back, and that he is seeking a meeting with the Com- missioner of Police on the matter. Piscopo also said he will be resigning his post in the fishing co-op, but remained criti- cal of Judge Silvio Meli's decision. "We can't go from justice to injustice, just so we can make it seem as though we're doing some- thing about what happened," Piscopo said, referring to speculated links between the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Gali- zia just over two weeks ago, and fuel smug- gling rings. In its decision, the court flagged a number of issues – on the basis of which it ordered a police investigation – such as the fact that no fishing equipment was found on board when the Dimitra was intercepted, that the vessel's VHF system had been switched off, that it was carrying undeclared diesel, and was also car- rying a portable fuel meter. Mr Justice Silvio Meli said the "resultant in- dications was that the company was involved in the contraband of petroleum products through the use of fishing vessels… The in- terception, arrest and escort of the ship was the result of a reasonably serious suspicion of crime… since this is an illegal operation with the possibility of a crime having been com- mitted, this Court sends a copy of its deci- sion to the Commissioner of Police so that all criminal steps are taken against the people in question." Piscopo was adamant with his own justifica- tions for all these observations: that the Dimi- tra had a winch on board, because his boat was registered to pull fish-farm cages; that he was not aware his VHF was off because the fisheries department never notified him; or that it was reasonable for him have a fuel me- ter on board, given that it is common practice for the bigger fishing vessels to buy fuel at sea. Piscopo is no stranger to controversy, and he is quick to dispel other accusations that tie him to fuel smuggling. His son, Mat- thew, was imprisoned in Libya in March 2013 on accusations of fuel smuggling aboard an Egyptian vessel, but Piscopo says he was acquitted six months later. Piscopo's former partner Albert Tabone in the now defunct company Sunoil Management, also has a connection with Italian national An- drea D'Aloja, extradited to Italy from the Dominican Republic in 2015 over a 'Mafia Capitale' investigation into fuel smuggling (MaltaToday is not suggesting any con- nection between this investigation and Pis- copo). Piscopo is adamant that the Maltese courts' decision into the Dimitra seizure, is because efforts are underway to make an example of him. "Now it's all about this story [fuel smug- gling] because everyone wants to do some- thing about what happened. Maybe, [the judge] wants to divert attention," he said. "I am going to be the sacrificial lamb, but if [the judge] wants to look at contraband, there is a lot for him to look at." Piscopo, who has already had another vessel seized in Libya in the past, claimed discriminatory treatment because he was never given a copy of the report prepared by investigators. He adds that the Dimitra was not the only vessel found to be carrying undeclared fuel at the time. The others, he claimed, were allowed to pay a simple fine. Customs had also found 28,000 litres of smuggled diesel aboard the MV Padre Pio, 110,000 litres aboard the MV Golden Dawn, and 150,000 litres on the MV Silver King. But the latter ship's owners later told this newspaper it had presented invoices showing the diesel was purchased legally. He then says the Dimitra was intercepted by the AFM between 22 and 24 nautical miles from Malta, where it was adrift, and awaiting orders. "It was not headed to Mal- ta, which is why it did not declare the fuel it was carrying." According to the law, once vessels are 24 miles from Malta they must declare any previously undeclared fuel they are carry- ing. "This is what the law says. But the pro- cedure is different," he claims, saying many vessels are today within the 24-mile zone and carrying undeclared fuel. "The proce- dure was that Customs would come to port upon your arrival, and you would tell them how much you are carrying." Upon declaring the fuel, Customs would inform the fisheries department to deduct the declared amount from the vessel's duty- free diesel allocation. ypace@mediatoday.com.mt MARIA PACE GZIRA mayor Conrad Borg Man- ché has welcomed a revised mas- terplan for the Manoel Island project, which is now earmarking 80,000 square metres for a public park. Borg Manché, who led a protest of Gzira residents against the clo- sure of the Manoel Island coastline by developers MIDI, said the re- vised plans would turn the island into a cultural centre open to the public. "We worked with MIDI and amended their proposals to create a more holistic island. We want Manoel Island to be Malta's green island," Borg Manché said. MIDI faced public outcry back in March after publishing plans that included a hotel at Fort Manoel, an extensive shopping complex and a casino-hotel at the historic Lazaretto among other proposals. Speaking at the time, in response to the backlash, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had said he want- ed the island to be a "green lung", insisting that he didn't want the community to feel a stranger to the area. Borg Manché, together with Kamp Emergenza Ambjent and Moviment Graffiti, later led a suc- cessful protest to forcibly reopen an illegally closed area that had kept the foreshore inaccessible to the public for 16 years. "We fought for a greener plan for the area, hoping for the island to be an open space for the public. It is the only place of its kind we have left In Malta," Borg Manché said. Earlier this week, the MIDI group published a revised masterplan for the restoration and redevelopment of Manoel Island, which included a public park of over 80,000 square metres in area. "In response to valuable feedback received from the broader com- munity, the Gzira Local Council, and the NGOs, architects Foster + Partners significantly amended the earlier masterplan for Manoel Island," MIDI said on its website. The company said the new mas- terplan will make Fort Manoel "a centre for Culture and the Arts, comprising galleries, museums, shops, restaurants and a Parade Ground for open-air events." The Lazaretto will still be re- stored and turned into a five-star hotel, with serviced apartments. The plans also envisage the crea- tion of "animated retail offering sensitively designed around the Island's open public spaces". The company claims this will not be a shopping centre complex. The new plans include an up- grade of the south shore yacht ma- rina, underground vehicle parking and public spaces at street level "connecting the pedestrianised streets to a series of open spaces and piazzas for the enjoyment of the general public." Borg Manché, however, said the new plan will turn the island into a cultural centre for the Maltese people, and that people will now be able to walk and bike around the public space. Two bridges will lead into the island, one with access for cars and one for pedestrians, and the island would be mostly pedes- trianised. "We want the public to be able to enjoy the island," he said. "There will be a hotel and some outlets, but it will essentially be a cultural area for people to enjoy". Most of all, Borg Manché said he wanted to safeguard the green- ery around the island. He said the council had refuted the plan to build up the green area, and it will now be turned into an open park for the public to enjoy, with noth- ing built on the area except a small extension. He said the Gzira coun- cil insisted on a height limitation of three to four levels for the new buildings, and as a result the resi- dential component of the develop- ment will be concentrated "at the western part of the island and will comprise a series of low rise urban blocks". He said the council also refused to have permanent water taxis around the island. "Water taxis would dirty the sea," he said. "Peo- ple will be able to swim around the island instead." Borg Manché said he wanted open access even during construc- tion, so that the people would be able to enjoy the island. He said an official announcement would be made soon, and that the council would be involved throughout the process to ensure the plan stays on track. mpace@mediatoday.com.mt Fisher in smuggling investigation claims he will be 'sacrificial lamb' Gzira Mayor gives MIDI's Manoel Island revamp the thumbs-up