Malta Freeport Terminals CEO Alex Montebello today expressed the company’s support in a new inflatable boom to contain oil spills, which can also be used in rough weather. This investment was made by Maritime Pilots Cooperative and complements the investment which Malta Freeport Terminals had undertaken in a 300 metre lightweight rapid response boom to protect the bay from any contamination. The inflatable boom is stationed at the Freeport and can be deployed in 14 minutes, giving pilots a quicker response time in case of emergency.
Mr Montebello said the Freeport has instituted a number of environmental measures in recent months and there will be more to come which will benefit the marine environment and local community. Indeed, all seagoing vessels have to comply with the IMO2020 regulation from January 1, 2020. IMO has set maximum sulphur content of 0.5% for marine fuels from 1 January 2020 throughout the world.
Thanks to this regulation, sulphur oxide emissions from vessels are set to decrease by 85 per cent. This will result in benefits to health and the environment, which is good news for the Freeport’s neighbourhood.
The Freeport has also undertaken other environmentally friendly initiatives in recent months, investing in white noise safety alarms on all Yard Cranes that are considerably quieter than beeper alarms as well as new lower emission cranes. It also recently welcomed the first LNG vessel to Malta.
