Thursday, 9th July 2009 - 12:19CET

New temporary pontoon at Blue Lagoon

Yellow shows swimmers zone and green the zones marked for mooring of boats.

A new temporary pontoon has been installed by the Malta Maritime Authority at Comino’s Blue Lagoon to facilitate a more efficient and safer loading and unloading of passengers by boats visiting this popular summer swimming zone throughout the summer months.

The wood and stainless steel pontoon extends outwards from the existent concrete quay that lies adjacent to the sandy beach.

“We are conscious of the fact that during the busy summer months, swimmers and boats have to co-exist in a limited space. Our role through the annual Safety at Sea Campaign seeks to ensure that this co-existence happens effectively and securely for the safe enjoyment of the sea by all,” said Stanley Portelli, CEO of the Malta Maritime Authority.

Dr Portelli explained how the installation of this new pontoon led to a reorganisation of all the Blue Lagoon area.

Blue Lagoon is one of the three assigned swimmers’ zones in Comino and one of the most delicate zones in Malta due to the highly influx of swimmers and boats who during the busy summer months visit Comino to enjoy the lagoon’s crystalline waters. The constant increase in boats visiting the area led the authority to install this new pontoon in order to allow safer mooring for the loading and unloading of persons on and off Comino,” added Dr Portelli.

This new pontoon will not only help to create a safer environment for both swimmers and boat owners in the area but it has effectively led to an increase in the area of the actual zone reserved for swimmers. In fact, whereas before, the existent small sandy beach was located outside the swimmers zone, the new marker buoys that delineate this zone have now been re-aligned to this new pontoon thus increasing the area available for swimmers.

“As such, besides requesting boat owners to always apply prudence when approaching and disembarking passengers on this newly installed pontoon, we also urge the public to cooperate and refrain from accessing this pontoon or swimming in close proximity to it," Dr Portelli said

The pontoon will be dismantled towards the end of September with the end of the summer season.

The Malta Maritime Authority has also designated new anchorage areas for visiting craft at Blue Lagoon. These areas are demarcated by yellow marker buoys flashing yellow at night. For the benefit and safety of all mariners and bathers, the authority urged visitors to adhere to the new arrangements.

Mariners, it said, should proceed at a safe speed, keep a sharp lookout and remember that :

• all craft are prohibited from entering the swimmers’ zone;

• all craft are prohibited from mooring to any marker buoys and/or ropes delineating the zone.

• anchoring is only permitted within the two designated areas leaving a minimum distance of three metres from the swimmers’ zone.

• fairway to be kept clear at all times.

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Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Saturday, November 21, 2009. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

Comments

Melvin Tonna (on 11/7/09)

@S.Grech,

How right you are mate. I cannot further agree with you. I used to work with tourists as well once and the things I've seen, the way the Maltese people treat the tourists (not all people, of course...I am not trying to generalize) is unbelievable. As for the tourist product, it sticks out a mile that some people are not doing their best to help in polishing the product, but rather tainting the Maltese image. Unfortunately, we are first in line to grumble about anything, and when it comes to doing our part...

s.grech (on 10/7/09)

@galea .l always worked in the tourist industry and here is the inferiority complex you mentioned !! Here are some of the feed backs I had through the years about some maltese people : Our roads they are a disaster , the taxi driver over charged us , the bus driver was smoking while driving us / using his mobile phone , our beaches are dirty , our streets are dirty, the veg man charged us Lm 4:00 for a banana .

Galea. L (on 9/7/09)

s.grech
Why always bring in the tourists in the equation?
What is wrong if it was made for Maltese citizens and the tourists can enjoy it as well?
Why all this inferiority complex?

Andrew Azzopardi (on 9/7/09)

@Alexander Azzopardi
Its quite easy really just make another pontoon "around the corner" either on comino or Cominotto. Coupled with signs and an easy path to follow with beach shoes. Allowing boats to moor so close to the swimming areas is like parking on the sand at a beach with the engine on. Noone likes that now do they?

Geoffrey Fisher (on 9/7/09)

Last Friday I hired a boat together with a driver to take 7 of us to the Blue Lagoon. No sooner did we step off the boat there were these lads touting for deckchairs and umbrellas. We hired 4 because we thought we would spend most of the time in the water but alas! this was not to be because we could not get to the water for all the deckchairs surrounding what little water's edge there is. There were even two deckchairs in the water. It was very noticeable that money went in the lads' puches but I did not see a receipt handed back to the visitors once and that included me. I will never go back to Comino again, at least not to the Blue Lagoon which has been invaded by human greed on land and boats and jellyfish at sea. What a shame! another diamond in the Malta crown fallen off! and what are we doing about it. The pontoon is a start but there is plenty of amends to make on land. Please act before it is too late.

s.grech (on 9/7/09)

Good job with the pontoon but why was there never made a foot path for our tourist to walk on ( maybe there is not enough votes on this beautiful island ) or some olive trees or a palm tree where somebody can take a picture the only concrete there is is what the british navy left behind !!! .,

M.Caruana (on 9/7/09)

Whatever the authorities do to protect this so called ''delicate zone'' is good. But when boaters used to throw anchor and tie ropes with the marker buoys, the boats were aligned in an orderly way unlike now. But what is most appalling and disgusting is the noise pollution that the ever increasing boat parties are doing. How would you feel Dr Portelli if you should own a boat and think you are going for some quiet time admiring the crystalline waters with your family when suddenly this monster anchors a few metres from shore with mind wrecking, boggling music blasting in your ears? It happened to us last Saturday, and this kept going on for hours and hours on end! When it finally left we didn't rejoice for long as by evening another boat anchored at the other end of Blue Lagoon blasting Comino with their 'fun' music until the early hours of the next day! We had friends from abroad and this is what one had to say about our precious Comino, "What a dump!' Was he referring to the actual rape of Comino or the overflow of 'penguin'/tourists that are being dumped there everyday?

Alexander Azzopardi (on 9/7/09)

@ andrew azzopardi

I fully agree with you that its very over crowded with deckchairs

But how could you moor a boat outside blue lagoon ????

Anthony Dimech (on 9/7/09)

Oh and I always thought that this beach was private................

Oscar Cassar (on 9/7/09)

Agree with Mr Andrew Azzopardi

K Vella (on 9/7/09)

Completely agree with Mr Abela. I would like to know from the authorities concerned whether those providing deck chairshave any type of permit. Do they provide any VAT receipt? Are the workers registered with ETC? Do they pay income tax? I doubt that any of these questions is a Yes.

Andrew Azzopardi (on 9/7/09)

I was shocked to see the amount of deckchairs put this year, every inch of the beach and the rocks behind the beach is covered by a deckchair. it wasnt that bad last year, its this year that its so disgraceful.
Also how about allowing boats to moor away from the line of sight of the blue lagoon area its an eyesore to see all those boats while swimming in such an already crowded place. And its not nice for us and the tourism industry to see a layer of diesel while swimming in blue lagoon

Frances Abela (on 9/7/09)

Is it too much to hope that the whole area of Blue Lagoon will be organised not just for boats? The area near the bay is always taken up by deckchairs and beachbeds leaving us mortals with not even enough room to place a towel. Just have the decency to not allow the whole area including the rocks taken up by the cowboys!

New temporary pontoon at Blue Lagoon

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