€3 million in direct orders in place to tackle illegal moorings after elections

Transport Minister Chris Bonett is planning a sweeping crackdown on illegal moorings across several Maltese bays immediately after the general elections, with Transport Malta preparing to issue around €3 million in direct orders to private maritime contractors to carry out the unprecedented operation.

Sources within Transport Malta told The Shift that the exercise is being coordinated by TM CEO Kurt Farrugia following instructions from the minister to keep the plans under wraps until after the polls.

Farrugia, on a €12,500 monthly salary, is currently coordinating Labour’s election campaign and is rarely at his Transport Malta office.

The operation is expected to target thousands of illegal or unregulated moorings in Marsaskala, Buġibba and Birżebbuġa this summer, in what insiders described as the largest enforcement and reorganisation exercise ever attempted in Malta’s pleasure boat sector.

Among the main beneficiaries is businessman Ranier Bezzina, owner of Bezzina Ship Repair Yard and president of Paola’s Hibs FC, where Minister Bonett serves as honorary president.

Public procurement documents seen by The Shift show that Bezzina’s company is expected to receive a direct order worth close to €1 million to reorganise moorings in Marsaskala, including the removal of hundreds of unauthorised berths and illegally placed buoys that have accumulated across the bay over the last decade.

Separate direct orders are also expected to be awarded to Sammut Marine Ltd for works in Buġibba, valued at around €1.2 million, and to Cassar Ship Repair Ltd for Birżebbuġa, through a contract worth approximately €970,000.

Illegal moorings have long been considered one of Malta’s worst-kept maritime secrets.

Despite repeated promises of enforcement, Transport Malta has largely avoided large-scale intervention for years, fearing political backlash from thousands of pleasure boat owners occupying public sea space without authorisation.

The problem has intensified due to a chronic shortage of legal berthing infrastructure.

Parliamentary figures have shown that Malta has more than 23,000 registered pleasure boats but only around 2,400 registered marina berths, creating enormous pressure on sheltered bays across the island.

As a result, entire stretches of coastline have gradually been overtaken by unregulated private moorings, many installed without permits or official oversight.

The situation is believed to be particularly severe in Gozo, especially in Marsalforn, where maritime sources say most existing moorings are illegal or irregular.

Over the years, numerous complaints have been filed about private individuals and operators effectively ‘claiming’ sections of bays by installing unauthorised buoys while charging boat owners for their use.

Although Transport Malta operates an official permit system and periodically issues Notices to Mariners prohibiting mooring in swimming zones and navigational fairways, effective enforcement has remained sporadic and inconsistent.

Previous attempts at reorganisation, including a large-scale exercise at Għadira Bay, triggered strong opposition from boat owners and residents, with many accusing authorities of selective enforcement and political interference.

Sources at Transport Malta told The Shift that the planned post-elections operation is expected to remove thousands of illegal moorings in a single coordinated exercise, fundamentally reshaping how pleasure boat berthing is managed across several major bays.