2025 progress meeting sets ambitious agenda for sector growth.
A second study on the economic contribution of the maritime transport industry has been commissioned by the Malta Maritime Forum.
MMF Chairman Godwin Xerri said at the opening of the 2025 Progress Meeting that E-Cubed Consultants had been commissioned to deliver the study.
Following the success of the initial study, this follow-up will shine a spotlight on emerging business opportunities that can further enhance Malta’s flagship maritime sectors, including ship registration, transhipment, ship-repair, cruises, and yachting.
The objective is to build on Malta’s already attractive package of maritime services and ensure the industry remains vibrant and relevant.
The meeting also featured insights from Dr Gordon Cordina and Dr Stephanie Vella, Executive Directors of E-Cubed, with Vella moderating a dynamic panel discussion alongside MMF board members Malcolm Custo’ (General Manager, Med Tug Malta), Capt Terence Farrugia (Chief Pilot), and Alex Montebello (CEO, Malta Freeport Terminals).
Custo appealed for better collaboration between stakeholders and proactive planning as key elements in driving future progress insisting for the ironing-out of internally generated bottlenecks to growth.
Farrugia noted positively that the authorities have acted on a 2022 MMF report on the shortage of workers and embarked on an EU project to develop a skills strategy in the maritime industry with the technical support of the OECD.
The MMF is delighted, he said, to participate actively in this project as a prime interlocutor for the industry.
Montebello delved into the short-term challenge that we could be facing with the Suez Canal reopening as this could trigger a surge of containership traffic with shippers reverting to the shorter faster route leading to congestion in ports.
He also tied this with the fact that containership new buildings have reached unprecedented levels to an all-time high of 9.7m TEU of capacity and with this the potential of overcapacity.
Concluding the event, the MMF Chairman said the new, forthcoming Economic Study will complement the upcoming National Maritime Transport Strategy, currently being drafted under the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works.
To this end, Xerri called on all members to actively participate in the forthcoming public consultation, ensuring the strategy truly reflects the diverse needs and ambitions of Malta’s maritime transport industry.
