Transport Malta’s reply
Transport Malta has taken exception to the contents of a study published last week by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which found that ships flying the Maltese maritime flag were also the most likely in Europe to be involved in the transportation of a range of destabilising commodities that “threaten states and societies throughout the developing and developed worlds”.
An article entitled Maltese shipping registry Europe’s largest, and most prone to illegalities appeared on our front page last week. Last week, extracts from the findings had been reported by the Associated Press, and subsequently just about everywhere else around the world, in relation to a new range of sanctions against Iran and its global shipping infrastructure.
In its reply, Transport Malta stresses that:
“Malta remains committed in its fight against destabilising or narcotic-related transfers and this, together with other initiatives, has been recognised by reputable companies which have chosen to register and operate their ships under the Malta flag”.
The full report, Maritime Transport and Destabilising Commodity Flows, can be found at: www.sipri.org
The following is Transport Malta’s reply in full:
Reference to the news article by David Lindsay published in your publication on Sunday 5 February 2012, Transport Malta would like to highlight the following facts for the benefit of your esteemed readers.
The Report, published by SIPRI, attempts to analyse the period between 1991 and 2011 but is based on the SIPRI Vessel and Maritime Incident Data base established in 2009. It does not comply with multiple sourcing standards, relies on reports of suspicion and is not based on factual or legal evidence.
The samples used for establishing the percentages claimed in the subject article are 529 and 256 ships respectively. For the interest of your readers, according to the Review of Maritime Transport 2011 report published by the UNCTAD secretariat of the United Nations, there were over 103,000 seagoing commercial ships in the world at the end of 2011.
The conclusion of the report clearly states that the study has not been able to properly reflect the roles played by the respective key maritime industry stakeholders nor did it evaluate the number of multilateral initiatives already in place to combat the maritime trafficking or proliferation related activities. Similarly, the analysis has not taken into account fundamental patterns such as routing, shipping hubs, ports of origin and destinations.
Malta is in compliance with its obligations concerning restrictive measures aimed against the proliferation of the carriage of weapons and narcotic drugs on merchant ships, as adopted by the United Nations Security Council and the European Union.
As one of the leading flags it has assumed an active role in the development and adoption of such measures, particularly within the EU and has taken a proactive role to establish cooperation agreements with other States to suppress the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. These agreements provide authority, on a bilateral basis, to board vessels suspected of carrying illicit shipments.
Malta is also party to international conventions, adopted by the International Maritime Organisation, that regulate the carriage of such materials and that allow a State Party to prosecute alleged offenders.
The Maltese registered vessels are subject to Port State Control and the registry is subject to international audits. Malta remains committed in its fight against destabilising or narcotic related transfers and this together with other initiatives has been recognised by reputable companies which have chosen to register and operate their ships under the Malta flag.
Source: Independent
