Editorial

There is more than a sense of déjà vu about the recent announcement that the government is going to privatise the marinas. It has been on the cards for years, but we are still no closer to finding out what the government exactly has in mind.

One can take as a starting point the principle that the Malta Maritime Authority should be a regulator and not an operator. However, beyond that it is anybody's guess what form the privatisation will take.

What would the different players want out of the privatisation?

The new operators will obviously have their eye on the bottom line, and whether it is viable or not depends entirely on what the government offers.

Will the operator be given a lease? For how long? For how much? Will it be bound to a certain amount of investment - maybe for new pontoons within the confines of the existing marinas? Different ground (mooring) lines? Better security? More personnel to keep an eye on things (the MMA has half a dozen)? Assistance to boats coming in to berth as offered at private marinas? Water and electricity modules that can cope with the demands of air-conditioning?

What revenue will the operator be able to generate beyond the berthing fees? Will the government allow it to raise the current fees, and if so, by how much and when?

Will the operator want some additional revenue streams to justify the outlay required to bring the marinas up to private standards? Perhaps land on which it can charge rent to affiliated amenities like food and beverage outlets, or set up a fuel quay, or a slipway? Will it have space to offer lucrative, short-stay visitors' berths?

The sums depend on what competition it will face: marinas at Xemxija and Marsascala; breakwaters; dredging. Each of these could change everything.

From the yacht owner's point of view, frustration with the MMA's limited resources is offset by fear of higher berthing fees, but how palatable these are depends on how much better the service is. Will they be held to ransom? Will it be a case of take it or leave it?

Yachts come in all shapes and sizes... and prices. It would be foolhardy for the government to assume that anyone with a boat has an unlimited disposable income.

It would be like saying that anyone who can afford a second home is rich, irrespective of whether they have a room at Bugibba or a farmhouse with a swimming pool in Gozo.

The last player in the picture is the government, which realises that yachting is not being exploited as an economic activity. Whether this means attracting super yachts, cruising boats, or races (why, oh why didn't Malta manage to get a look in for the run-up races to the America's Cup?), there is money to be made.

Companies are already lining up to see what the government is offering. It can only be an improvement on the dim-witted idea of a few years ago to auction the berths, which would have resulted in bizarre and unfair situations.

One last thought. Must we wait for privatisation for things to improve? A more systematic reorganisation of the boats by size is long overdue, which would certainly make berthing easier and safer. It is like a supermarket that has grown haphazardly over the years ending up with the tomatoes next to the toilet cleaner. Sometimes, you need to roll up your sleeves, get everything off the shelf, and start again.