Updated | LNG tanker's delayed entry suggests problems with mooring, PN warns

The fact that the LNG tanker that will provide gas to the Delimara power station has not yet berthed 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 despite 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 consortium behind the power station – said that it will temporarily depart the port “for a few days” to carry out further familiarization and security tests.

However, Fenech said that the tanker would have returned to the bay had everything been fine, arguing that it is currently costing ElectroGas “thousands of euro a day” to berth the tanker offshore at Hurd’s Bank.

"From a commercial standpoint, it doesn't make sense that the tanker hasn't entered the bay yet, unless it has encountered problems. Indeed, I am informed that it had encountered problems when it tried to anchor to the storm moorings.”

She urged the government to instantly publish all the technical documents that the Planning Authority will have to analyse before granting the power station an Integrated 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 available 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 report, the safety reports, the emergency plans, and the major accident 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 function 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 Directive on the prevention of industrial accidents.

“The Directive required the public consultation to be held before the construction of the power station and the arrival of the LNG tanker.”

Shadow energy minister Marthese Portelli criticised the government 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 further cuts.

“The government could have easily 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 purchasing it at higher rates from the [Delmara] power station.”

In a reaction to the Opposition’s press conference, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) released a statement claiming that the Nationalist party has been inconsistent with its arguments regarding the LNG tanker.

It insisted that there is nothing wrong with the LNG tanker, stating that the government had made it clear that the tanker would be required to undergo sea trials before it becomes operational.

The OPM’s statement did not address any other issues raised by Fenech on Tuesday, nor did it comment on the statements she made.