Abela’s summertime absence hidden from public as boat made untraceable

Prime Minister Robert Abela’s summer maritime escapades aboard his yacht remain obscured from the public eye, as research by The Shift has established a change in boat name and registration with no publicly trackable location information, usually widely available for other vessels.

Documents from the Malta Ship Registry show that Abela’s yacht changed its name to Baloo II in 2021, previously registered as the Baloo III under the Italian ship registry.

The change in name has led to media reports listing the boat with its previous name, creating confusion on the boat’s location given the Maltese Ship Registry lists another Baloo III, which is not Abela’s yacht.

The 16-metre yacht, a 50-foot flybridge model, was manufactured by Italian boat manufacturer Azimut in 2008 and was first provisionally registered under the Malta Ship Registry in 2020, with full registration completed in January 2021.

The Baloo II’s MMSI number, a unique identifying code linked to a boat’s telecommunications equipment, is not publicly available, with only a year-old out-of-date number obtainable online.

The lack of data tied to this MMSI number precluded The Shift from conducting any analysis of Abela’s weeks-long holidays during which he is absent from his prime ministerial role.

Maritime experts who spoke to The Shift said the absence of tracking information may mean the telecommunications equipment is switched off or has been replaced. They said that while privately owned boats are under no legal obligation to report their location publicly, location tracking is a safety feature for boats, especially in international waters.

Maritime Mobile Service Identity numbers (MMSIs) are used by Automatic Identification System (AIS) equipment to uniquely identify ships and boats through their GPS or internal sensors.

The Baloo III currently listed on the Malta Ship Registry is not Abela’s boat but a commercial charter yacht built by a different company.

Last week, Abela left the country on his boat after having appointed deputy prime minister Chris Fearne as acting prime minister through government notice 1121 on 14 August, with author Mark Camilleri claiming the prime minister was on his way to Greece for a two-week holiday.

The move to appoint an acting prime minister came following criticism of Abela’s earlier holidays, where he opted to leave the country without a legally appointed replacement for the entire duration of his trips abroad.

A month earlier, Abela, who is registered as the sole owner of the Baloo II, once again came under public scrutiny as he was filmed by NET TV sailing out of the Birgu marina on 14 July, merely two days after he and his government voted against the opening of a public inquiry into Jean-Paul Sofia’s death.

At the time, the country was also grappling with an electricity distribution crisis, with many left without power for days amid a scorching heatwave.

Abela’s summer-long holidays on his yacht have become a summertime staple since he was appointed prime minister in January 2020, with The Shift reporting that year on the Office of the Prime Minister’s refusal to supply basic information relating to his whereabouts during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Maritime and yachting experts who had spoken to The Shift had valued the Baloo II, at the time reported with its previous moniker of Baloo III, at up to €300,000. A conservative estimate places the costs of owning the boat at a minimum of €20,000 yearly, consuming around 200 litres of fuel for every hour of use.

This article was supported by additional research from the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (OCCRP).