Council backs berthing of LNG vessel in Marsaxlokk bay

With four votes in favour and one against, the Marsaxlokk local council has taken an official position in favour of the Delimara energy project and the LNG-storage vessel which government plans to berth inside the fishing village’s picturesque bay.

The only councilor to vote against the project was PN councilor Angelo Micallef.

Marsaxlokk mayor Edric Micallef insisted that the council had long been fighting for better air quality, pointing out that a monitoring committee between the council, MEPA and Enemalta to monitor air quality had been set up.

Minutes of this evening’s meeting show the local council arguing that the council’s work had helped the country in taking a direction towards the use of gas.

“The council looks positively towards a change to gas, that will drastically reduce toxic gas emissions from the power station.”

The council said it preferred the option of a floating LNG terminal to storage tanks on land, keeping in the mind the consideration that an eventual use of a gas pipeline would make the removal of the floating terminal easier than removing storage tanks on land.

Urging the government to continue persisting in chasing the proposal of a permanent pipeline, the local council insisted that the presence of the terminal should be temporary.

The council also noted that the studies carried out by the OHSA and MEPA confirmed that no danger existed for the safety of resident.

During the meeting, the mayor also referred to a unanimous vote taken by the council in September 2013 on a document that referred to the temporary berthing of the LNG vessel.

The document by engineer Arthur Ciantar was presented by the Marsaxlokk local council in response to the publication of the Environment Impact Assessment on the new CCGT and gas storage facilities to be established at Delimara power station.

The local council had unanimously taken the position that “a good probability” existed that the current limits on emissions would be reduced even further below projected limits.

“It would therefore be wise to ensure that no effort be spared, in reducing all emissions not below the limits set by the Air Quality Directive, but rather to the minimum levels possible, to minimize the impact particularly on human health,” an extract of the said report reads.

“Furthermore, the Marsaxlokk local council recommends that connections for a future gas pipeline are to be included into the present plans… should this come to fruition, then the storage vessel will no longer be required resulting in an optimal solution.”

In a statement issued this evening, Angeol Micallef acknowledged that the change to gas was a welcoming factor for the Marsaxlokk residents – one which he welcomed “with open arms”.

He however said that while the change to gas was a positive step, there remained several unanswered questions, including on the government’s decision “to permanently” berth the tanker in the bay.

“Because of the lack of studies on the full impact of the proposal and in view of the fact other alternatives were not studied, I voted against the position adopted by the local council,: Micallef said.

He insisted that a permanent tanker would not be in the best interest of the residents and said that pressure should be made to move towards a gas pipeline.