A petition asking the European Commission to investigate any risk to public safety from a gas tanker in Marsaxlokk Bay was accepted by the European Parliament.

Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola this evening said that the petition, which she presented last year with more than 3,000 signatures, was accepted by the parliament and the Commission would now have to investigate the matter.

The gas tanker is expected to serve as a storage facility for liquefied natural gas, which will be used to fire the new gas power station at Delimara. The plans foresee the tanker mooring alongside a purpose-built jetty inside Marsaxlokk Bay.

Dr Metsola had raised the matter in the European Parliament where she urged the government not to rush with its proposal to berth the huge floating gas storage unit in the middle of the bay.

She had said the project could run contrary to the provisions of the EU’s SEVESO Directive, and that the impact on people’s lives, the environment, businesses, fishermen and their boats had not been properly taken into consideration by the government.

The gas power station, including a gas terminal and the floating storage facility were approved by the planning authority last year.

Concerns had been raised about the safety of locating the storage ship inside Marsaxlokk Bay.