Opposition leader Simon Busuttil this evening asked the prime minister in Parliament  whether he was prepared to make a statement in the House about the arrival of the LNG tanker to be used at the Delimara power station. He said the tanker posed health and security concerns.

Dr Busuttil asked the prime minister to explain why the risk assessment report had not been published.

Would he explain what would happen if the berth was hit by a storm, of if the tanker was hit by a container ship?  What would happen and what precautions were being taken in case of a gas leak or an explosion? Was there an adequate number of fire engines and fire-fighting tug boats?

Why was the prime minister going ahead with anchoring such a dangerous ship in Marsaxlokk Bay for 18 years?

Dr Muscat replied that many of Dr Busuttil’s assertions were false and in any case, many of the explanations he sought had already been given and this subject could be raised again next week in the Budget debate.

He asked, however, whether, a new PN government would remove the tanker and revert to the use of heavy fuel oil for the power station.