More than 13,000 seacraft are listed in the Malta Maritime Authority's small ships register and with the number of boats in Maltese seas increasing every year, safety was becoming ever more important, Transport Minister Censu Galea said yesterday.
He was speaking on board the motor yacht Alevok when touring swimmer zones as part of this summer's "Safety at Sea" campaign.
The minister said that the campaign, which is held every year, had gone a long way to educating the public about the importance of safety among boat owners and swimmers.
"Respecting all regulations set by the authorities is vital, because, ultimately, everyone at sea has a responsibility towards himself and others," he said.
Mr Galea said that throughout the past years efforts had been directed towards launching a campaign in order to educate everyone and promote the importance of enjoying the sea without endangering oneself or others.
There was always, however, room for improvement and this message had to be emphasised continuously. He said that only with the public's cooperation could the authorities concerned ensure a truly successful campaign.
The minister stressed the importance of finding the right balance between the needs of swimmers and boaters.
While the boating community needed to be further educated about the importance of safety procedures when at sea, swimmers had to be responsible and careful when swimming in zones not designated just for swimming.
The 13,000 registered boats range from non-propelled boats under 12 feet (500) to boats over 150 horse power (1,115).
There are 6,000 non-propelled boats over 12 feet and propelled boats up to 10HP; 990 boats with between 10 and 25 horse power; 1,221 between 25 and 50 horse power; 1,431 between 50 and 75 horse power; and 1,772 between 75 and 150 horse power.
Small ships administrator John Farrugia said that as part of the campaign 18 swimmer zones were designated. These could not be accessed by any seacraft.
These zones were marked by clearly visible yellow and red coloured buoys deployed at 50-metre intervals.
In Malta, these zones were at Golden Sands, Ghajn Tuffieha, Mellieha Bay, Paradise Bay, il-Veccja and l-Ghazzenin at St Paul's Bay, St Julian's and Birzebbuga.
In Gozo they are at ir-Ramla l-Hamra, Xlendi Bay, Marsalforn, Qbajjar, Hondoq ir-Rummien and San Blas and in Comino at the Blue Lagoon, Sta Marija and San Niklaw bays.
Mr Farrugia said that no speedboat or any other mechanically propelled seacraft could proceed at a speed exceeding 10 knots inside any harbour, in any place within 300 metres of the foreshore of any sandy beach and in any place within 20 metres of any other part of the foreshore. Such regulations also applied to water skiing.
He said the MMA strongly recommended that each boat was equipped with the necessary safety and life saving equipment but, unfortunately, small boat owners still considered such equipment as an added luxury or a futile expense.
Another extremely important aspect was the use of mobile phones. People believed these could easily replace the use of the VHF radio. This was a complete misconception because VHF was a very reliable means of communication that kept boaters in constant contact with everyone within their proximity.
On the other hand, mobile phones had limited reception and one could only contact another person at one time, who might be unreachable.
Maritime Institute director Reuben Lanfranco said that more than 3,000 people had already attended a course, introduced by the institute last year, for the owners of boats over 100 horse power. It was now compulsory for owners of a boat this size to attend the course and obtain a boating licence.