The drop in oil prices to a five-year low could have one negative consequence for Malta - more tankers storing millions of gallons of oil are expected to drop anchor just outside territorial waters, waiting for the price to rise.
The specialist publication MarineLink said the oil price drop will hand tanker markets an unexpected bonus next year, boosting demand for oil storage at sea.
The 'parking' of tankers for months on end on Hurd's Bank, some 18 miles off Grand Harbour, has long been a concern for Malta, because of the risk of an oil spill should anything happened to one of them. However, since they are in international waters, nothing much can be done about them. Their numbers has fluctuated with the oil price, sometimes reaching more than 30.
Herbjorn Hansson, chairman and chief executive of Nordic American Tankers, told shareholders recently that lower oil prices "may trigger stockpiling".
The International Energy Agency forecast last week that global oil stocks will continue to build and could reach tank-tops next year. That could force the front of the crude oil market into a bigger discount, and encourage floating storage.
"Once we have gone into 2015, there may come a point when the rapid build-up of surplus crude in the market will open opportunities for floating storage. This scenario is a further positive for VLCCs (supertankers)," tanker broker E.A. Gibson was quoted as saying.
As far back as 2009, Times of Malta had reported about concerns in Malta about the potential hazards of these tankers on its horizon.
Even if the tankers were not close, they could still pose a great threat to the islands, Aldo Drago, head of the University of Malta's Physical Oceanography Unit, had said.
"We need to be ready to respond to any eventual threat of oil hitting our shores," he said.