Senza Segnale – Amphora Media

Farmers Wait, Government Agencies and Big Operators Win: Malta’s EU CAP Funding Misses Its Target

Daiva — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 06:30:00 +0000

By Daiva Repečkaitė

Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the EU’s flagship funding stream for farms, mainly benefits road building, wineries, the poultry sector and Project Green in Malta;
Project Green was the largest single beneficiary of the €166 million fund, receiving €15.8 million, with no clear links to farming.
Over €1.2 million went to Infrastructure Malta road-building projects.
The authority claims it benefited over 308,508 persons from the ‘rural population’, which is more than half of Malta’s population, and dwarfs the number of registered farmers.
Wine producers benefited from CAP’s basic income and environmental measures.
Montekristo, which ran unsanctioned operations until 2025, also benefited.
Farmers’ representatives have repeatedly voiced their needs: help acquiring land, reduced bureaucracy, and market access. “I had to drive around the island on the day of the deadline to find the right office,” farmer Cane Vella said about bureaucracy.
At an average of over €201,000 per hectare, the purchase price of arable land in Malta is by far the highest in the EU, while rental rates are far below the EU average at €91 per hectare.
CAP distribution is questioned not only in Malta; reporting from Italy shows that the selection process disadvantages small farmers who market products locally, even though small farms were historically dominant in Italy.

This investigation is part of Senza Segnale, a collaborative project. Together with Facta, Amphora Media reviewed who benefits the most from CAP and who is left out.

In Malta, most EU farm subsidies do not reach farmers. Data shows a large proportion went to roads and infrastructure investments. Wineries, the poultry sector and even Project Green scored big.

An analysis by Amphora Media of data published by fondi.eu and the Agriculture and Rural Payments Agency (ARPA) indicates that, since 2023, the majority of funds under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) have been captured by government bodies, while individual farmers have received a much smaller share.

“There is an office in Ta’ Qali with fifty farmers sitting half a day waiting,” farmer Cane Vella says of applying for a young farmer subsidy. “When you get inside, it’s very rushed.”

Malta’s team, including Minister Anton Refalo, at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council. Photo credit: European Union

When the European Commission approved Malta’s CAP plan in 2022, Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo said that European Funds “will continue to assist all workers in this field.”

“The EU scheme is straightforward, but land registration is not,” Vella says. “There is no handbook.” Farmers’ representatives echoed the lack of coordination and strategic vision among government entities.

Maltese farmers selling their produce. Photo credit: Joanna Demarco

How does the EU fund Maltese farming?

The CAP is one of the 19 EU funding streams implemented by the government. It is financed through the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

In Malta, the Funds and Programmes Division within the Ministry for the European Funds oversees CAP funds as the managing authority. Applications and payments are processed by the ARPA.

CAP goals include supporting farmers to help them “make a reasonable living”, sustainable management of natural resources, and keeping the rural economy “alive” by promoting jobs in farming, agri-food industries and associated sectors.

Between 2023 and 2027, Malta will distribute a total of €166 million (EU funds and Maltese co-financing).

Discover the key priorities for Malta under CAP cap:

Swieqi’s Summer of Overtourism

Daiva — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 09:45:09 +0000

By John Cordina / Newsbook

This is one of two stories about two vastly different Mediterranean communities struggling with overtourism produced through the collaborative project Senza Segnale, involving journalists from Malta and Italy. One focuses on a lively city and tourist destination – Palermo – but this one is about my suburban hometown of Swieqi, a place with little to offer tourists yet deeply impacted by tourism nevertheless. Published in collaboration with Newsbook.

The Suburbanites’ Protest

A few dozen people who gathered in Swieqi on the last Sunday of August ensured that Malta joined tourist destinations across southern Europe in protesting against overtourism last year, though the choice of venue may seem strange to outside eyes.

Swieqi, which emerged as a fast-growing suburb of neighbouring St Julians in the 1960s, is far from a tourist destination. Home to over 15,000 people, it has no beaches, no notable attractions, few venues for socialising. Two hotels were torn down years ago, and the only collective accommodation left are an aparthotel and two guesthouses with around 80 rooms among them, with planning policies that effectively preclude the development of new ones.

Calling Swieqi boring is not unreasonable, but it is centrally located on a small island and is widely considered a desirable place to live. And boring means quiet; or at least it used to.

The Holiday Flat Loophole

But Swieqi’s restrictions on touristic development have been rendered worthless by a phenomenon that has transformed tourism: a sharp rise in holiday rentals, fuelled by rise of Airbnb and other online platforms making them readily accessible to travellers across globe.

It is a phenomenon that caught authorities unprepared, as Swieqi itself shows: while it is mostly designated as a “residential priority area” in which tourist accommodation is prohibited, holiday rentals are still treated as ordinary residences under Maltese planning law.

Any home can thus be turned into licensed “holiday premises,” circumventing policies drawn up before a flood of tourist rentals could have been foreseen.

A complex of holiday flats on Swieqi Road is but one example of this anomaly: it was built after a planned guesthouse was refused a permit as it was deemed unsuited to a residential area.

This road has become a hotspot for holiday rentals as it leads straight to Malta’s main nightlife district of Paceville: an underpass beneath the Regional Road, one of Malta’s main roads, is all that separates the two.

Many listings emphasise the proximity to Paceville: some do not even mention Swieqi at all.

Worse than Barcelona

Official statistics present an unenviable scenario for Malta and Swieqi: the proportion of tourist rentals is markedly higher than in the city notable for fighting back.

Barcelona, home to nearly 1.7 million people – roughly three times Malta’s population – had just over 10,000 licensed tourist flats in 2024, when its mayor confirmed they would be banned for good by 2029.

The number of licensed holiday premises in Malta reached 7,649 by the start of February, and Swieqi – home to 2.7% of the national population – hosts 5% of them, with 386 licensed premises providing 2,079 bed spaces.

Actual numbers may well be considerably higher when unlicensed premises are taken into account: an exercise carried out last summer identified 432 active Swieqi listings on Airbnb alone.

Malta thus has more than twice as many short-term rentals per capita – and Swieqi roughly four times as many – as Barcelona, despite national tourist numbers that still fall far short of what the city receives.

No Slow Season

Malta’s tourism numbers are growing rapidly, as is the case with many other Mediterranean destinations, facilitated by low-cost flights and holiday rentals which have helped make travel more accessible.

Tourist numbers had been stable for around two decades until the early 2010s, with Malta welcoming a little more than 1 million tourists a year, but have risen dramatically since.

Malta welcomed more than 2 million tourists in 2017, and the 3 million mark was surpassed in 2024, with 3.56 million travellers. That record was surpassed by November 2025, and the country may well have surpassed the 4 million mark by the end of the year: three times as many as it had received just 15 years prior.

Consequently, while tourism in Malta remains seasonal, peaking in summer, one cannot really speak of a “slow” season anymore.

No less than 200,000 people visited Malta in February 2025, in what is historically the slowest month of the year.

Given these figures, it is perhaps unsurprising that all Swieqi residents I spoke to suggested that the situation took a marked turn for the worse around a decade ago.

“It doesn’t end now: it’s slightly less intense, but it’s continuous,” Arnold Cassola, who organised the August protest in which he decried Swieqi’s transformation into “Paceville’s daytime dormitory,” explains. “You could plan around July and August before, but it’s not like that anymore.”

Noise disturbances are a regular complaint, whether through house parties from partygoers walking to or from their flat, often while drunk or intoxicated. This foot traffic often leads to other nuisances, including vandalism and the odd fight. Garbage is another chronic concern: the waste generated in tourist rentals is often brought out at inappropriate times, and often remains uncollected for days.

The Council’s Crusade

Given the chance, Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat would likely follow Barcelona’s lead and ban short-term rentals outright: a proposal by the council he leads would effectively do so. But Maltese local councils have no authority to do anything of the sort on their own.

The lack of powers – limited since they were created in 1993, and reduced further over time – is an evident source of frustration for Muscat, not least since the local council bears the brunt of complaints it cannot directly address. Tourist accommodation licensing is under the Malta Tourism Authority, and local councils can no longer set waste collection schedules after a single national schedule was introduced.

What they can do is speak up, express their concerns and present proposals, and while the local council has done so, it is futile if the authorities prove unwilling to respond. This is laid bare by a document Muscat provides: a letter prepared for a meeting the council held with the minister for tourism a full decade ago, on February 2016.

In that letter, Muscat highlighted that the number of short-lets had “mushroomed” in Swieqi, causing its inhabitants stress “in the form of noise disturbances, sometimes vandalism and even cleanliness,” and pleaded for regulations that would make it possible to maintain order and address abuse.

But this plea went unheard, with Muscat observing that if short-lets were mushrooming then, “now they’re spreading like wildfire.”

It went a step further last year, presenting no fewer than 12 proposals, including requiring tourist rentals to be classified more accurately as commercial properties. The council also called for a moratorium on new licenses until carrying capacity studies are conducted and for strict limits to be set on the number of tourist rentals in every Maltese locality.

The Protest Organiser

Few people have lived in Swieqi as long as Cassola, an academic and veteran politician who presently chairs the political party Momentum: his family had moved to what was then a nascent suburb in 1972, when he was a teenager. He moved back to his late parents’ home a few years ago, after spending much of his life in a nearby apartment, a move which gives him some space from short-lets, in contrast to his former apartment.

But it’s still very close to Paceville, and his street sees considerable foot traffic accordingly.

Beyond countless incidents of drunk partygoers urinating at his doorstep, he’s had a car mirror broken no less than three times.

Through his Facebook page “Arnold’s Citizen Watch,” he regularly airs the grievances of people from around the country, so it is perhaps unsurprising that he is involved in his hometown’s struggle against overtourism.

His efforts have included launching a parliamentary petition calling for urgent action on the “misuse of tourist rentals in residential areas,” which attracted 2,373 signatures, but he felt a protest was necessary as summer arrived and tempers flared.

In part, Cassola was inspired by growing community activism in Swieqi and beyond: he made a point of inviting residents’ groups from other areas similarly bearing the brunt of overtourism. But the protest was also organised in response to growing anger and in a bid to pre-empt plans for more disruptive actions, which he feared would backfire, including a proposed protest which would have dumped rubbish bags outside the prime minister’s office to highlight Swieqi’s own garbage crisis.

The Former Minister Claiming Maladministration

Another prominent community voice which emerged in the summer was Evarist Bartolo, a government minister between 2013 and 2022 as part of the governing Labour Party and a Swieqi resident for over 30 years. A former journalist and lecturer in journalism – my thesis supervisor, as it happens – Bartolo has now drawn the curtain on his political career, but like Cassola, maintains an active presence on Facebook, regularly sharing his reflections. He readily endorsed the protest, and while was unable to attend it, prepared a message which was read out on his behalf.

As far as Swieqi residents are concerned, Bartolo and I can both count ourselves lucky: neither of us are particularly affected by holiday rentals, even though his home is closer to Paceville than mine. Still, he is regularly approached by fellow residents hoping he could be their voice, often Labour supporters in what is a stronghold of the Nationalist Party, which has enjoyed a strong majority at the council since its inception.

Bartolo has no compunction about calling out his former colleagues in government as the stories pour in. He is adamant that the authorities have been guilty of maladministration in managing tourist rentals, and has asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate accordingly.

As one example, he takes aim at the very structure of Malta’s tourism authority, which has the dual – and seemingly conflicting – role of regulating and promoting the tourism industry, with much of its budget funding the latter aim.

Bartolo observes that other tourist destinations have shown that it was possible to act decisively against overtourism: some may even have gone too far in their opinion. But in Malta, the authorities continued ignoring the issue at their peril.

“If I were them, I would worry about allowing an irresponsible sector to harm the reputation of tourism,” he insisted. “Because hostility to tourism will only increase.”

Suffering in Silence

A common thread emerges in my interviews with three of Swieqi’s most prominent political figures: a reluctance by many residents to go public with their concerns. Even August’s protest attracted a modest crowd of around 80 people, though that may in part reflect political bickering which ultimately saw the local council sit it out. Cassola hailed these numbers as a “very good result” nevertheless, noting that Swieqi was still unaccustomed to community activism.

Muscat, on his part, had highlighted that many residents were “suffering in silence,” and in September, the local council provided the community with another opportunity to speak up through a meeting with the community policing team responsible for the area.

With dozens of people turning up, turnout was good as far as Maltese community meetings go, and the crowd had a lot to say. But it emerged that just eight police reports had been filed for tourism-related disturbances during the year.

“We know how serious the situation is,” Inspector Gabby Gatt, who manages the community police teams in Swieqi and a number of other localities, assured the residents present. “But we do not receive enough reports to substantiate it.”

As the meeting progressed, however, and as one resident after another spoke up, a clear pattern emerged: the resources the police could or wanted to allocate were nowhere near what residents were hoping for.

And an incident shared by Gatt highlighted that landlords have little incentive to ensure their guests are good neighbours: one informed about his rowdy guests celebrated that he could now claim their deposit.

Enter the Pressure Group

The community police were not alone in encouraging residents to file reports: the same message is emphasised in “Swieqi Pressure Group.” Though just a group chat on WhatsApp, as its moderators make clear, in a locality that lacks a residents’ association of its own it may come closest to filling that gap for now.

It was established only last May: Cassola had observed that this took place amid rising tempers.

Martin and Steve (not their real names) confirm as much when we meet, but Martin recounts that the direct trigger was an incident which occurred near his home: a male tourist who took a naked morning stroll, aggressively confronting a number of residents along the way. A photo of this incident made the rounds on social media and was even featured in local press: Martin witnessed it in person.

“Things were already bothering me, then there was this case… the very next day it was done,” he said.

The authorities did respond once the incident went viral, even if Martin was less than encourage by the outcome: a suspended sentence after the tourist admitted to charges including harassment and public indecency. This, he stressed, would have no bearing on someone who does not actually live in the country.

The two men firmly rejected the suggestion that the community’s issues centred around numerous low-level offences which could not be considered a police priority, despite the inconvenience they may cause.

“There is a perceived sense of threat within the community, especially among the elderly and the young,” Steve observes. “I won’t say that people are afraid to leave their homes all the time, but the fear is there.”

Martin readily concurs, emphasising his fears about the safety of his two daughters, both in their twenties.

An Inadequate Response, By Design

The interview with ethe two men took place the day after the community police meeting, and confirmed that their suggested remedy had its limitations, as Steve found out when he reported a loud flat party keeping his family awake the night before his son took an exam.

“I go out, literally screaming, file a report, but they keep going,” he notes. “By the time the police arrive an hour later, they are knocked out, and there’s nothing to report.”

The meeting saw Cassola repeatedly challenge the police’s insistence on reports: they could and did act on their own initiative when they saw fit. He recalled another incident involving a naked tourist, one filmed riding a motorcycle through Malta’s streets and was later identified, prosecuted, and fined after the footage went viral.

Various residents made clear their reluctance to follow through with a report publicly, including by testifying in court: not least since it would mean facing off against the business interests behind the holiday rentals. Neither they nor Cassola swayed police from insisting on the necessity of doing so, however.

Bartolo viewed this insistence cynically, deeming it a deliberate tactic.

“They insist you must show up and testify deliberately, to make you give up,” he observes. “Why are we expecting ordinary individuals to step up? Why don’t the authorities do anything to strike a balance and protect the public?”

‘Collateral Damage’

In this context, the residents’ dealings – or lack thereof – with police and other authorities highlight that Swieqi’s struggles were not an issue of residents versus tourists, but of a community burdened by a business that often profited at their expense. The link between short-term rentals and Malta’s politically-influential construction industry is not missed by anyone I spoke to.

“The government is closing an eye… to let people turn a profit,” Martin muses. “And we are just collateral damage.”

He suggests a simple remedy – “if you’re not capable of handling your clients, close it down” – but it is not an approach the authorities are exactly known for where business interests are involved.

Muscat’s own assessment is that the state’s failings were not a matter of incompetence, but betrayed an unwillingness to act.

“You’re under pressure… and you have to stand up to it,” he notes. “But they give in.”

And as our interview draws to a close, he warns things can get much worse.

Profiteering Over Everything

“Developers have become dangerously strong, you have no idea,” he maintains. “They view us as mere ants, and they don’t know how to invest in anything else.”

The present short-let craze was a natural consequence of this, the mayor maintains: they became the most profitable use of an apartment. Consequently, in a country where apartments are often sold before a permit is even issued, there are now projects that are not being advertised for sale at all, including a large apartment block being built a short distance away from the local council offices that could by itself increase Swieqi’s stock of licensed holiday rentals by nearly a third.

“Spain was exactly in the same situation Malta is in now before the 2008 crisis,” he observes. “The economy was thriving, but it was all built on property. And what do we invest in? Property, property, property, property…”

Bartolo expresses similar sentiments as he rails against an attitude that prioritises profiteering over all else, and warns that change is unlikely when Malta’s main political parties are financially dependent on businesses.

“The scales will always be tipped in favour of the donors,” he muses. And as Muscat had done, Bartolo warns this may have dire consequences down the line.

“I worry that we’re being very short-sighted, because we’ve always scraped through,” he observes. “So we remain on the brink.”

The Government Responds

With the interviews taking place as summer was drawing to a close, it was perhaps inevitable that they betrayed a general sense of pessimism about the future of the community.

“If the authorities fail to take proper steps, it will be more of the same,” Bartolo maintained. “And so far I’m not seeing any political will.”

The others shared similar sentiments amid expectations that the growth holiday rentals would remain unchecked, though Cassola did temper this pessimism as he hailed the fact that Swieqi residents were finally finding their voice.

And by the end of summer, their voice had reached its intended audience.

In September, the government picked Swieqi and Valletta for a pilot project which aimed to develop community solutions to the problems caused by overtourism. And in November, this was followed up by proposed regulations which would make it possible to restrict short-lets to designated areas and require tourist rentals to display a 24-hour contact number which aggrieved residents could complain to.

Minister Ian Borg. Source: DOI

A month-long public consultation finished in December, though the regulations are yet to become law, and the number of holiday rentals in Swieqi and in Malta has only grown since then.

A Hopeful Future?

The proposed regulations still fall considerably short of the local council’s demand, with no caps on numbers, no indication that existing rentals would be affected and no commitment that any designated zones would be drawn up. And in a country that has long struggled with enforcing regulations, their implementation still relies on the political will Bartolo failed to see among his former cabinet colleagues.

Bartolo’s response as I sought to find out whether the government’s gestures had given my interviewees new hopes was succinct: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating,”

Muscat was hopeful: “there is no reason why (the situation) should not improve… God forbid that it does not improve drastically.” But the mayor emphasises the need to do more, not least closing the planning loophole that enabled Swieqi’s transformation into Paceville’s dormitory and a capacity study, whilst warning that the challenge will be even greater this year.

The others do not share his optimism, with Cassola viewing the proposals cynically as “lip service to gain votes, since elections are approaching.” Any sign of progress, he maintains, could only be determined after the next election – which must take place by 2027 – takes place.

Steve and Martin, meanwhile, see little cause for celebration since even winter has not brought them peace: it’s still bad now, only better than summer.

Noise, disturbances, garbage accumulation and drug use continue unabated.

Neither are yet to see any political will to change things: “if there was, things would have moved in the right direction,” Steve muses, while Martin reiterates that the interest of those profiting at the community’s expense were still being put first.

This scepticism does not appear unwarranted, given that a previous proposal to require apartment owners to obtain approval from their condominium neighbours before licensing it as a holiday rentals was ditched early last year: tourism minister Ian Borg deemed it unfair on those who invested in short-lets. Instead, Borg pledged to enforce the rules to ensure neighbourly respect.

As Swieqi can attest, that proved to be a broken promise, one that casts a shadow on the latest pledges. But it also led to a community still struggling to define its identity to find its voice and be heard, across the political spectrum: the next step, perhaps, will be to ensure it is actually listened to.

This investigation is part of Senza Segnale, a collaborative project that reconnects news deserts in the Mediterranean.

Senza Segnale is a project by Amphora Media and IrpiMedia; in collaboration with Fada, Facta, Indip, Infonodes, Centro di Giornalismo Permanente; in cooperation with the Allianz Foundation.

Cruise Ships Plugged in Grand Harbour Onshore Power Supply Only 9% of Time in First Year

Joanna — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 05:55:10 +0000

By Joanna Demarco

Cruise ships in Malta’s Grand Harbour connected to the onshore power supply system just 9% of the time in the first year
Cruise vessel traffic and arrivals continue to rise annually, now at over 940,000 visitors, raising doubts about whether overall air pollution is actually decreasing compared to the years prior.
Shorter stays saw higher OPS use: 19% of ships berthed for a day or less plugged in, while none of those docked for longer than two days did.
MSC World Europa accounted for just over half of OPS connections, yet failed to plug in on several occasions.
Carnival Corporation’s liners used the technology only 6 times out of 58 calls, despite contractual obligations and available equipment.
The 45% of port arrivals occur at 7am or earlier, intensifying early-morning noise and air pollution in nearby communities.
The Senglea air monitoring station — which tracked near- real-time particulate matter — was removed in October 2024, reducing both monitoring of a ‘crucial’ pollutant and transparency in air quality monitoring around the Grand Harbour.
Local residents continue to raise health concerns, with the Southern Harbour region recording the highest asthma hospital discharge rate in Malta between 2017 and 2022.
Costs, grid stability, and outdated ship technology as possible reasons for low OPS uptake.

After a year in service, Malta’s Onshore Power Supply (OPS) system was used by cruise ships just 9% of the time, according to an analysis by Amphora Media.

That translates to roughly five and a half minutes per hour for every cruise ship berthing in the Grand Harbour.

Using publicly available data from the Valletta Cruise Port website and records on OPS (shore-to-ship) connections obtained from Transport Malta through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, Amphora Media was able to calculate the total percentage of time vessels plugged in between July 2024 – when the ship-to-shore system in the Grand Harbour kicked off – and July 2025.

The data also shows that, as the number of cruise ships plugging into the OPS continues to gain momentum, the flow of cruise ships berthing in Malta’s Grand Harbour is also increasing annually.

The OPS system at the Valletta Cruise Port. Image credit: Kian Bugeja/ DOI

The technology for cruise liners, launched by the government in 2024 and co-funded by the European Union, allows vessels to plug into the national power grid, instead of generating power from their own engines, slashing harmful pollutant emissions.

It was launched nine months prior to the EU setting a 2030 deadline for maritime ports to install onshore power supply infrastructure and for vessels to plug in.

Shore-to-ship promises to slash 90% of air pollution from berthed cruise ships in the Grand Harbour for roughly 17,000 people who live in the surrounding areas.

Research by the organisation Transport & Environment shows that the shipping sector is one of the leading sources of greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution.

It is estimated to be responsible for more than 250,000 premature deaths per year worldwide, from cancer and cardiovascular diseases alone. And while all ship types have an environmental and climate impact, air pollution from cruise ships is particularly worrying, Transport & Environment highlights.

OPS Was Not Used for Longer Stays

Within the one-year period analysed by Amphora Media – between July 10th 2024 and July 10th 2025 – there were 373 cruise ship berths in the Grand Harbour. Out of these, the vessels plugged into the shore-to-ship technology 67 times, and not always for the complete duration of the stay.

Out of the total number of vessels at the port (without calculating power supply usage):

312 were berthed for one day or less
38 were berthed between one and two days
23 were berthed for between two to four days

Our analysis shows that cruise ships were more likely to plug into the onshore power supply when berthing for one day or less (19.6% compared to 16.2% and 0%). No cruise ships that were berthed for two to four days used the technology.

Shipping giant MSC, which co-owns Palumbo Malta Shipyard LTD, located within the same waters, plugged into Malta’s system over half (35) of the total 67 instances in which the system was used, with its MSC World Europa cruise ship. However, the same cruise ship did not plug into the OPS on another 16 occasions when it was berthed.

Asked by Amphora Media why they would decide to plug-in on some occasions but not on others, the company did not reply.

Since signing a ‘‘shore power agreement’ with the Maltese government, Carnival Corporation’s cruise liners only made use of the technology 6 out of 58 times berthing in the Grand Harbour, even in the cases where the vessel has shown the capability to plug in.

For example, the cruise vessel Costa Fascinosa plugged into the OPS technology on 13th June 2025, however, it did not make use of the technology during its following three berths in the port between June and July. Similarly, Aida Diva plugged into the system on 1st April 2025 but not on 8th April 2025.

In a request for comment, Transport Malta explained that Carnival Corporation connected to the OPS infrastructure for “testing and commissioning purposes to obtain the necessary certification” as “Onshore Power Supply ready”, adding that “once this process is completed, the vessels will be able to use the system routinely.” Carnival Corporation echoed the same justification.

Transport Malta turned down Amphora Media’s request for a copy of the shore power agreement, citing “strict” confidentiality due to its “commercial nature”.

Images of cruise vessels emitting fumes taken by a Floriana resident.

Number of Cruise Ships and Passengers in Grand Harbour on the Rise Again

Following a near-standstill of cruise ship activity during the COVID-19 year 2020, the number of cruise ships berthing in the Grand Harbour have been increasing annually, with the number of passengers hitting record figures in 2024 and registering quasi-pre-pandemic levels in terms of cruise vessel calls.

Valletta Cruise Port figures show 357 cruise liner calls in 2024. That’s up from 312 calls in 2023 and 283 in 2022, and slightly lower than the 372 calls logged in 2019.

Meanwhile, passenger numbers also hit new all-time highs: 940,915 in 2024, compared with 889,336 in 2023 and just 147,132 in 2021, and more than the 902,425 recorded in 2019.

This means that for overall air pollution in the area to decline, the emissions avoided through OPS must outweigh the added emissions from the rising number of berthed ships

The government celebrates this constant growth in cruise arrivals. However, residents in the area who are concerned about the impact fumes spewing out of the ships are having on their health do not share the same jovial tone.

For Alex, a resident who has been living in Floriana for over a decade, the growing presence of cruise ships has led to increased noise pollution and a growing concern about the impact this surge in numbers is having on his own health and that of the rest of the community.

“Now they [cruise ships] come in at 5:30am in the morning,” he told Amphora Media. “Sometimes the whole building shakes … just to give you an idea of the impact”.

Data collected by Amphora Media indicates that 45% of port call arrivals occur at 7am or earlier, with the earliest port arrivals occurring at 4:30am.

Together with other residents, Alex started a Facebook group called ‘Clean Air for the Grand Harbour’, and since then has lent an ear to residents, who have noticed a decline in their respiratory health, among other concerns.

Figures can back up the reality of respiratory issues for residents surrounding the Grand Harbour.

Data on asthma as a primary or secondary discharge diagnosis from Mater Dei Hospital between 2017 and 2022, made available to Amphora Media, shows that on average, the Southern Harbour region – which includes Floriana, Valletta, The Three Cities, and other towns surrounding the Grand Harbour – was the district with the highest discharge rates.

The region experienced 1.18 diagnoses per 1000 people over the six years, followed by an average of 0.95 in the Northern district and 0.91 in the Northern Harbour district.

Infrastructure Malta, the agency overseeing the shift to OPS technology, had in fact stated in 2023 that “17,000 families residing around the Grand Harbour area” would benefit from cleaner air through the investment.

The Environment Ministry did not reply to questions by Amphora Media on the matter.

Prime Minister Robert Abela and Carnival UK & P&O Cruises President Paul Ludlow shake hands at the signing of the agreement. Image credit: DOI

The reasons not to use the OPS system today may vary.

Francisco Ferreira, President of the Portuguese NGO Zero, which closely monitors the development of OPS systems in Portugal, explained that vessels are not yet equipped with the technology or choose not to connect, as plugging in is often more expensive than running on their own fuel.

Transport Malta reiterated that before the 2030 obligation designated by the new EU law, “subject to the condition that vessels comply with emission requirements, connecting to the onshore power, at this stage, remains the prerogative of the shipping line.” According to Ferreira, one of the biggest challenges for cruise lines is retrofitting their fleets.

“In many cases, if you have an old ship, it’s better to scrap it than retrofit it. It’s better to buy or build a new one. (…) The problem we see in this industry is the very slow pace of transformation from the current fleet to one capable of connecting to onshore power supply.”

He also stressed the importance of competitive pricing for OPS. “If the cost difference is too high, retrofitting becomes more attractive to operators than continuing to rely on diesel while at berth,” he said.

The Transport Ministry did not reply to Amphora Media’s questions on the prices Malta has currently for the use of the OPS infrastructure.

Senglea Air Monitoring Station Removed, and Particulate Matter Monitoring Removed With It

As cruise ships in the Grand Harbour increase, and OPS technology use remains low, the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA)’s mobile air monitoring station in Senglea has been removed, along with its near-real-time monitoring data, which was available for the public to view online.

Questioned about the absence of the monitor, a spokesperson for ERA confirmed the removal to Amphora Media.

“The mobile station was intended to be located there for a specific period to collect enough samples to be able to perform a study on any impact shipping in the Grand Harbour may have on air quality,” the spokesperson said. “This monitoring exercise was completed and removed from Senglea at the end of October 2024.”

The air quality in the area is now only monitored through the passive diffusive tube network, meaning that as of October last year, residents surrounding the Grand Harbour do not have access to monitor air pollution in the area in real-time.

The passive diffusion tube network monitors the Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Benzene levels around the island. The mobile monitoring stations, meanwhile, additionally calculate Particulate Matter (PM) levels and Ozone (O3) levels, among others.

In a conversation with Amphora Media, BirdLife Malta’s Head of Conservation, Nicholas Barbara, explained that monitoring particulate matter is “crucial” for monitoring the impact of the air pollution on the health of people in the area, and there is no other way to monitor PM levels other than through live monitoring.

BirdLife Malta has been one of the local NGOs at the forefront of advocating for clean air in the area.

“If they are going back to the diffuser only, they are not measuring the particulate matter at all.” he said.

Barbara argued that the government should now be thinking of a more permanent setup to continue the monitoring efforts that were covered by the Senglea monitor, since “the cruise ship industry is not going to go [anywhere], for sure, in the coming years”.

By the time of publication, ERA did not reply to questions on the absence of monitoring particulate matter in the area and the Environment Ministry did not reply to questions about the decrease in monitoring in the area.

Potential Strain on National Grid Could Be Legitimate Reason Not to Connect to OPS Under New EU Law

Concerns about the stability of Malta’s national grid in relation to OPS technology have been raised since the introduction of the new system.

Last year, it made headlines after Prime Minister Robert Abela pointed to it as one of the reasons why the power grid was under pressure.

In July, the Nationalist Party also questioned the stability and reliability of the shore-to-ship power supply after alleging that cruise liners suffered power outages while connected to the national grid – allegations that Transport Malta and Enemalta denied.

Under the new EU law, vessels will be allowed not to plug in to OPS systems in cases where they are “unable to connect to OPS because, exceptionally, the electrical grid stability is at risk, due to insufficient available shore-power to satisfy the ship’s required electrical power demand at berth.”

This investigation is part of Senza Segnale, a collaborative project that reconnects news deserts in the Mediterranean.

Senza Segnale is a project by Amphora Media and IrpiMedia; in collaboration with Fada, Facta, Indip, Infonodes, Centro di Giornalismo Permanente; in cooperation with the Allianz Foundation.