Mepa orders stop to fuel loading in Marsa

The planning authority has ordered Mediterranean Offshore Bunkering Co. Ltd in Marsa to stop loading and unloading fuel, given what it said was the unacceptable air pollution from oil berthing facilities.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority wants the management to rectify the situation and install the required mitigation measures. The two sides are holding talks to determine the way forward.

MOBC has been instructed to stop carrying out loading and unloading fuel from and to barges and tankers, any tank-to-tank transfers and the heating of tanks containing fuel.

The stop order was issued on Monday in view of the potential environment risks and nuisance caused by odours generated by such activities, the authority said.

Marsa residents and workers at Hexagon House have repeatedly complained of unbearable odours and last week Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco – who had transferred his office from Valletta to Hexagon – said the noxious odours plaguing the area were mainly caused by fumes released during fuel storage and bunkering.

The Labour party reacted by saying Dr de Marco’s move to Hexagon House had solved nothing and accused him of seeming to be more interested in indirectly blaming a parastatal company than the operator of a private company who was recently taken to court.

The secretariat reacted by saying that in the past two months there had been increased monitoring of air quality, while experts conducted studies on various areas of possible pollution.

Various measures to mitigate the environmental impact of the operations of the neighbouring industries had been identified and there was an analysis of the ventilation system in Hexagon House, it said.