Towards an Improved Transport System

Perit Janice Borg Infrastructure Malta: Looking over the Horizon… Cold Ironing the Valletta Grand Harbour. An environmental project earmarked to reduce pollution in the Grand Harbour area

The Grand Harbour, a Port known for its versatility throughout the ages, has stood witness to major historical events. The vast day to day activities happening over a small area undoubtedly affect the lives of a large portion of the population that lives or works within the immediate vicinity of the harbour. It has long been known that some of the port related activities leave negative impacts on the health and wellbeing of those persons who frequent the area and on the 17,000 families who live in the surrounding towns.

The Government has, in the last years, taken decisions to push forward projects with the aim to reduce emissions generated from large ships berthed in the harbour, and which will ultimately result in great environmental benefit to the population at large. The objective is for these vessels to switch off their auxiliary engines whilst berthed in the Grand Harbour and plug in to shoreside electricity to power their onboard systems. Being proactive also ensures that Malta is fully prepared for when the Fit for 55 Package becomes a legislation with the goal of coming into force in 2030.

Back in 2020, Infrastructure Malta embarked on a one of a kind project to cold iron five of the major quays in the Northern region of the Grand Harbour - mainly: Pinto 1/2, Pinto 3, Pinto 4/5, Deep Water Quay, and Boiler Wharf.

This project focuses on providing shore power to cruise liners, and will have the possibility of selectable outputs of 11kV or 6.6kV at 50 or 60 Hertz. The project is part financed through the Connecting Europe Facility. Currently, the project is in its final stages, with targets to be ready towards the end of 2023.

Once ready, it will be handed over to Transport Malta for management and operation. This project is expected to reduce the emissions generated by vessels by more than 90%. That’s 1,400 tonnes less nitrogen oxide emissions in the Grand Harbour every year.

Of interest is the fact that apart from the large numbers of cables exceeding 22km in length that had to be laid both on land and subsea, this project also included the construction of two large frequency convertor stations - one at Deep Water Quay and the other one at Boiler Wharf, whereby the industrial shed at Boiler Wharf was also restored to enable it to house the necessary equipment. Such a restoration project of an industrial building is deemed to be one of the first of its kind on our islands.

At the time of writing this article, Infrastructure Malta has gone one step further and published another tender for the provision of shore supply connection for the Southern region of the Grand Harbour, namely Ras Ħanżir, Lab Wharf, Magazine Wharf, Dock 6, Parlatorio Wharf, and Malta Maritime Hub.

The envisioned investment will also focus on the provision of shore supply for containers, RoRos and general use vessels. There will be a mix of high voltage and low voltage points to cater for the industrial quays located on the Southern part of the harbour.

Freeport’s Future is Green

Malta Freeport

Shipping lines and ports around the world are being challenged to do their bit in the drive towards creating a more sustainable global economy. Never one to shy away from its environmental responsibilities, Malta Freeport Terminals is riding the green wave with a clear commitment to reducing air, noise and light pollution.

Air pollution around the facility has been reduced significantly thanks to ships calling at the Freeport either being powered by LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) – which emit 25% less CO2 than fuel-powered systems, use 99% less sulphur dioxide and save 92% in nitrogen oxide emissions – as well as its compliance with the IMO 2020 regulation stipulating that the sulphur oxide level in conventional maritime fuel cannot be in excess of 0.5% (compared with the previous level of 3.5%). Furthermore, more and more vessels are now powered by LNG in conformity with the IMO strategic plan for 2050, which demands that gas emissions in the sea be reduced by 50%, while working to eventually eliminate them completely.

Thanks to a long-term €320 million strategic investment programme, Malta Freeport now regularly receives the world’s largest LNG-powered containerships operated by CMA CGM, with a staggering capacity of 23,000 TEU containers. Malta Freeport is proud to be handling the 15,000 TEU LNG vessels which are calling at the Freeport twice weekly on the MEX1 Service on both the westbound and eastbound leg. The prestigious French Asia Line Service (FAL1), which connects North Europe to Asia is also calling regularly at the Freeport through the operation of CMA CGM’s nine LNG-powered containerships with a capacity of 23,000 TEUs.

These advancements have not happened by accident. The facility has, over recent years, acquired five new megamax quayside cranes with outstanding technological and environmental specifications which reduce consumption, noise and emissions, while at the same time improving efficiency.

Meanwhile, new Rubber-Tyred Gantry Cranes (RTGs) offer a safer working environment and are equipped with safety alarms that are considerably quieter than the conventional beeper alarms previously in use. In fact, the Freeport has also retrofitted these quieter alarms on the existing fleet of RTGs, thereby substantially reducing noise from the facility. More advanced asphalting is also being laid at the Terminals, particularly in areas close to the village, reducing operational noise pollution.

Light pollution has also been reduced. Full cut-out light fittings have been installed at Terminal One – the terminal closest to the village of Birżebbuġa where the port is located – having a positive impact on glare, light spillage and sky glow, while lighting at Terminal Two has also been adjusted.

Malta Freeport has also devised a Waste Management Plan, aimed at controlling and regulating waste at the port facilities, which forms part of Malta Freeport Terminals’ Environmental Policy and follows the National Plan on waste management regulated by Malta’s Environment and Resource Authority (ERA). Under the plan, the facility is committed to recycling principles and aims to reduce as much as possible the amount of waste produced on the premises as well as reusing, recycling or recovering the waste generated prior to disposal into landfills.

Malta Freeport is also an enthusiastic participant in the annual European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR), which brings together thousands of awareness-raising actions about sustainable waste management from across Europe.

In fact, this year the facility won the Waste Reduction Award for Best Practice in Business at the ninth edition of the Malta Waste Reduction Awards, which recognised an initiative by the Freeport to encourage communities to come together to promote sustainable waste management. This programme culminated in a number of environmental initiatives in Birżebbuġa, focused on the theme of ‘Circular Communities’.

Regular discussions are also held regarding the implementation of the environment management system at the Freeport with the Environment Monitoring Committee, made up of Malta Freeport Terminals, Birżebbuġa Local Council, Birżebbuġa NGO BEAG, Malta Freeport Corporation, the local environmental authorities (ERA) and Transport Malta.

The surrounding environment continues to be a high priority. Malta Freeport has supported an initiative to acquire a new inflatable boom which can be used in the bay to effectively contain oil spills that may occur in rough seas. This boom, stationed at the Freeport, can be deployed within 14 minutes, providing pilots with a rapid response time in case of emergency.

This investment was made by Maritime Pilots Cooperative and complements the investment which the Freeport had undertaken to protect the bay from any contamination.

The shore-to-ship project, an initiative of the Malta Freeport Corporation, avoiding the need for vessels to keep their engines running while at berth, will also lead to cleaner air, less noise and vibration and less CO2, further strengthening the Freeport’s environmental credentials as well as significantly reducing inconvenience to residents caused by engines of berthed container ships. The tender for this project has been issued by Malta Freeport Corporation and is due to come on stream in 2024.

The company has also completed a 2.43MW solar panel project on both the Terminals’ internal and external carparks, generating over 3,600MWh of energy per year. This is equivalent to savings of over 2,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, further strengthening the Freeport’s environmental credentials.

The facility has received the highest international certification for its efforts, obtaining the coveted ISO 9001 (Quality Management System), ISO 45001 (Safety Management System), and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System) certification for operating an integrated Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental Management System.

Malta Freeport’s drive to be a top green facility will continue unabated. Whatever challenges lie ahead, the Company is fully committed to moving forward in terms of both efficiency and environmental standards in its mission to be recognised as a Port of the Future.

Warriors of the Sea… Malta’s Tugs

Interview – Mr. John E. Sullivan

On 18th March of this year, the vessel MT Chem P was in danger of running aground if it weren’t for the timely intervention of the Ports and Yachting Directorate of Transport Malta and Tug Malta, whose vessels and crew battled the high waves and strong winds to make sure that the vessel would not run aground.

In this edition of T-21, we are going to take a look at Tug Malta, their operations and why the services the company offers are so indispensable for the safety of maritime crews and vessels. T-21 spoke with the Chairman of Tug Malta, Mr. John E. Sullivan, about the company’s role in the maritime sector.

Towage services in the harbours and territorial waters of the Maltese Islands are regulated in terms of the Authority for Transport in Malta Act (Cap.499) and the Towage (Tariff of Rates) Regulations (S.L. 499.49) of the Laws of Malta, and shall be under the supervision and regulation of the Authority. Port Notice No 1 of 2021 dated 17 February 2021 – Minimum Towage Requirements – issued by the Ports and Yachting Directorate, also applies.

1. Tug services in ports can be traced back at least to the mid 1800’s, when the traditional sailing ships used their own rowing boats to assist ships from drifting in ports. Since then, ship technology has advanced to the extent that at times, at least in calm waters, mega ships may not require tug assistance at all. How do you see further advancements in ship technology affecting tug service?

Over the years, the industry has seen substantial advancements in ship and tug technology, which has had a considerable effect on the towage sector. However, ships, particularly container main liner vessels, cruise liners and oil tankers, have grown bigger in size and have become much more manoeuvrable, and therefore require less tugs for assistance during berthing and unberthing.

Most ULCCs nowadays are fitted with very large bow thrusters, sometimes exceeding 3,000kW, and some of the larger ULCCs nowadays are fitted with twin bow thrusters. Propulsion system installations on these vessels have also seen a significant change.

Previously fitted with a single propeller shaft and single propeller driven by a large two stroke slow speed diesel engine, today we are seeing mega vessels propelled by means of two engines driving independent propeller shafts and propellers, and other vessels propelled by means of a single propeller shaft and single propeller driven and supplemented by means of podded contra-rotating propellers and others with hybrid propulsion driving wings.

Cruise liners are either propelled by conventional propellers or by several podded azimuth thrusters. Apart from the propulsion system, most cruise liners are fitted with a multitude of transverse thrusters, even up to five in number, having three bow thrusters and two stern thrusters.

Cruise liners, which normally go to the West Caribbean and other environmentally sensitive areas, today have a dynamic positioning system (DP System) which allows the vessel to remain in a fixed position or to manoeuvre to a fixed position without the need to drop anchors or be assisted by tugs to do so.

All these advancements have had a considerable effect on the use of tugs and the number of tugs required to assist such vessels.