I was surprised to read that oil tankers are gathering off Malta waiting for oil prices to rise. We all know what happened in Alaska when the Exxon Valdez spilled its contents: the oil eventually covered 11,000 square miles of ocean.

A study conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration determined that, as of early 2007, more than 26,000 gallons of oil remain in the sandy soil of the contaminated shoreline, declining at a rate of less than four per cent a year.

Imagine what would happen to Malta if one of these huge tankers spilled its millions of barrels of oil. All that's left of tourism in Malta would disappear instantly; the source of drinking water would be contaminated for months, if not years; the fishing industry would collapse. Not to mention that Malta's entire shoreline would be contaminated for years.

The Maltese government should be fighting this and raising it as a serious environmental issue for Mediterranean states.