Viset eyes Boiler Wharf

Boiler Wharf in Senglea is the ideal solution as a cruise liner berth, offering a viable alternative when quays on Valletta Waterfront are full. And the best thing is that it would cost less than Lm200,000. "It is the solution that could be sorted out quickly and cheaply. The quay only needs refurbishment," Viset CEO Chris Paris explained. "The investment could come from the government or the private sector or from a combination of the two."

At present the wharf is being used by Malta Shipyards for vessels when contracts have been completed but the 'yard is willing to relinquish it.

Viset has already carried out a comprehensive study on the logistics involved and established that the quay and access roads would cope with the few dozen coaches that would be required, although passengers could also be ferried directly by sea to the terminal on Valletta Waterfront, which would solve security issues - especially once Malta is part of the Schengen area.

The problem is that Viset's three quays are often not enough to cope with bookings. It has the option to use Deep Water Quay but the operators of that quay, Valletta Gateway Terminals, are themselves seeing demand grow. This means that cruise vessels are sent to Laboratory Wharf, hardly the ideal tourist disembarcation site.

One option would be for VGT to be granted extra quay space at Laboratory Wharf in return for DWQ but even this would require considerable long-term work and investment. Boiler Wharf, on the other hand, could be used as a spillover quay very quickly.

Why the sudden panic? Next year, Viset will have five ships doing partial turnarounds in Malta, two from MSC, one from Costa, one from Pullman and one from Norwegian Cruises.

"A partial turnaround means that the vessel drops off and picks up passengers. And it is not just Maltese that are taking up this option. Norwegian Cruises is planning to offer 2,000 places over the season to foreigners," Mr Paris said.

Malta's fortunes have waxed and waned. There had been rapid growth for a number of years but the numbers fell in 2004 and 2005. The past two years have seen Malta catch up and arrivals are now roughly where they would have been had the growth been uninterrupted.

2007 has been a particularly good year for cruising with targets not only met but surpassed. To date this year, the terminal has already handled 474,000 passengers, 21 per cent more than the total for the whole of 2006.

"Of course, we need to keep our feet on the ground. We cannot expect to see growth continuing at this rate," Mr Paris said.

"However, there is no doubt, going off the bookings we have received, that next year we will exceed 500,000 passengers."

Cruising is changing. Small ships are being replaced by floating cities with spectacular facilities ranging from surfing pools to climbing walls, from tennis courts to ice skating rinks. At the end of the 1990s, most ships catered for fewer than 1,000 passengers. Fewer ships tend to have medium-to-large capacity and many are in the Post-Panamax category (referring to ships able to transit the Panama Canal), meaning that they cater for 31,500 passengers between them. The order books are a sign that companies expect the industry to grow further. There were 39 ships being built last quarter, with 51 due for completion by 2012.

The Caribbean is still the top destination - in part because most operators are American - but the islands are reaching saturation and the Mediterrean is taking up the slack. There were only 138 ships deployed in the Med. in 2006, compared to 147 this year.

Where does that leave Malta? The island has to be prepared to cater for more ships - and larger ones.

Cruising is split between three main companies: Carnival with 158,000 berths, Royal Caribbean with 74,000 and Star/Norwegian Cruises with 32,000.

Malta already caters to a number of the brands within these companies. As they replace small ships with larger ones, they take their slots too. For example, Brilliance of the Seas, which carried 3,200 passengers, will be coming here regularly as from the end of 2008. Norwegian Gem will also start calls next year and MSC will have two ships calling.

This worries Mr Paris.

"Royal Caribbean's new class of vessel, the Genesis, is 360m long and will cary 5,000 passengers and 2,000 crew. No doubt, this will eventually be used in the Med. If we don't have space to accommodate it, we will lose business.

"We are not the only country vying for cruise business. Tunis attracted 600,000 passengers and is close to saturation point. Cyprus and Sicily are also investing in cruise terminals. So we have to make sure that we can offer an alternative."

There are a number of new potential sites being put forward - by both parties. Marsamxett cannot be considered until the breakwater is built. In Grand Harbour, Barriera Wharf is often mentioned but a quay would need to be built if ships are to berth alongside, at a cost of Lm7-10 million.

At the end of the day, ships will come to Malta as long as it pays them to do so. They are facing more than enough pressure from the cost of fuel. In fact, Mr Paris explained, the trend is for ships to slow down to save fuel, meaning they spend more time at sea and visit fewer ports. This will put pressure on operators to go for the ports with most brand recognition.

"Valletta does not yet have the brand that Barcelona and Venice do! So we have to try harder if we want them to come further south..." he said.

"We cannot take things for granted."

Mr Paris was quick to point out how much had been done - by government and the private sector as well as by Viset. There is now a public transport service from the quay, for example, as well as the seaplane and the resurfacing in Valletta has transformed the capital. But there is still no sea transport linking both harbours (although there is a Maltese dghajsa within Grand Harbour) and still no vertical connection to Valletta. Still, he said there was far more support from the tourism industry since Sam Mifsud had taken over as chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority.

"It is a great comfort that he understands the business and appreciates that cruise passengers are the best ambassadors for Malta," he said.