Transport Minister Joe Mizzi told Parliament on Monday that the definition of the continental shelf was to be changed at law to bring it in line with United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

At the moment, continental shelf is defined under Maltese law as the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast of Malta but outside territorial waters, to a depth of 200 metres or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of natural resources.

The Continental Shelf Bill defines the area without making any reference to the 200-metre limit and it would be measured in accordance with international law.

This, said Dr Mizzi, would make it easier for new technology to be used.

Today’s technology permitted the exploration and exploitation of the deep seas and the legal limit of 200 metres rendered the technology useless.

The new definition would also refer to adjacent coastal countries as the Bill proposed the possibility of agreements between countries to determine the extent of the continental shelves in case of any dispute.

Mr Mizzi said that in the case of states whose coasts were opposite Malta’s, the boundary of the continental shelf should be that determined by agreement between Malta and the other state or, in the absence of agreement, the median line.

This ensured that there was a legal basis for future agreements the government might enter into with other states with respect to exploitation in the areas pertaining to Malta.

The Bill also regulated the laying down of pipelines and cables on the continental shelf while it gave ample powers to the Prime Minister to declare designated areas for exploration and exploitation and issue the necessary regulations under this Act.

Anthony Bezzina for the Opposition said that the previous government was about to bring this Bill into force but had to further analyse the advantages and disadvantages linked with the exclusive economic maritime zone that could be declared by a government. It also needed to analyse the pros and cons of having agreements with other countries on the matter.

He asked whether the government was convinced that the proposed bilateral agreements with other states would be beneficial. Would declaring designated areas as exclusive maritime zones be in Malta’s interest?

Today’s technology permitted the exploration and exploitation of deep seas and the legal limit of 200 metres rendered it useless

He said he was concerned that due to this, the bunkering industry might suffer.

There was also the possibility that upon declaring an area as exclusive to Malta, negative vibes would be sent across the region, which might affect the country’s relationship with Italy, Libya and Tunisia.

Also, Mr Bezzina said, a lot of duties came with the right to declare a designated area, such as marine conservation and the management of living resources in the area.

He said this meant that the government would need to increase the resources of both Mepa and the AFM.

Winding up the debate, Minister Mizzi said the sector had been neglected for years and were it not for the proposed amendments one could not go on with explorations beyond the 200 metre depth.

With respect to bilateral agreements Mr Mizzi said that it was useless to remain in dispute with a country over ownership of a particular area, because this meant that neither would be able to exploit it.

The minister said he could not understand the Opposition’s concerns. The Bill would not regulate economic exclusive maritime zones but rather it ensured that the new definition of the continental shelf meant further development in the area.

On a point of order, Opposition deputy leader Mario De Marco said that the issue of maritime contigous zones came in when considering the option of joint exploration. It was one thing entering into agreements with a nearby contigous state and another thing having exploration with another state whose coast was not opposite Malta’s.

Replying, Mr Mizzi said the joint exploration agreement would not take away Malta’s sovereign right over the disputed area.

He also referred to oil spills, saying the government had entered into an agreement for help with another country until the time when Malta was capable of taking care of an environmental disaster of that nature.

The Bill was unanimously approved.

The House also approved the Territorial Waters and Contigous Zone (Amendment) Bill which proposed amendments that would also change definitions at law.

Mr Mizzi said the main amendment would correct discrepancies on the base points from which territorial waters had to be measured as established under the 1982 UN Law of the Sea Convention ratified by Malta in 1993.

The territorial waters of Malta should be 12 nautical miles. A schedule was attached to the Bill which showed the necessary coordinates for this calculation.

He said this correction was needed to avoid possible implications in oil exploration.