The planning authority has ascertained that no unauthorised ship repair works were taking place at the Freeport after the presence of an oil rig raised eyebrows.

A spokesman for the Malta Environment and Planning Authority said that an inspection showed that no repair works were carried out on the oil rig that berthed at the Freeport last week.

But Birżebbuġa mayor Joseph Farrugia was unconvinced. Speaking to timesofmalta.com, he insisted that repair works were being carried out on the rig.

“There is no other reason why the rig had to berth inside the port. Normally, rigs berth near Filfla unless they require repair works,” he said, adding that the cranes were seen loading material onto the rig.

“The Freeport management told us that it was Transport Malta that authorised the rig to berth there but this does not mean that repair works can be carried out,” Mr Farrugia said.

He called on the authorities to ensure that no unauthorised activity was taking place at the Freeport.

The unusual presence of an oil rig alongside the quay of the container terminal raised concerns among Birżebbuġa residents.

Replying to questions, Mepa confirmed the Freeport has no permit to carry out ship repair activity.

A spokesman said that during a regular Freeport monitoring committee meeting held this morning the authority informed all parties that ship repair works were not permitted on site.

The Birżebbuġa council and the Birżebbuġa action group, a green pressure group, are represented on the committee.

A spokesman for the Freeport said it was “premature” to comment about the matter. “There are discussions going on between the Freeport, Mepa and Transport Malta and it will be premature to comment at this stage before a solution is found to the problems being raised,” the Freeport spokesman said.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com