My attention was recently drawn to this article. At present, I am rather annoyed with the state of filth at marinas in Malta. During a recent visit to Sicily, I found the waters in a very enclosed marina to be clear, and the managers there still were a bit worried that it was not sufficiently clear. I was informed that people could swim there - and actually they did - and that the have filters for anything that was removed from the boats: waste water, drainage, etc
In Malta, particularly the Msida Marina, the filth of the waters is untenable, as well as being very harmful to the surrounding areas. In Msida, the water is black and stinks to high heaven. During the winter, my boat suffered plenty of rainfall and partly sank: you would not imagine the volumes of, literally, black sludge that had to be churned out. This was no mean feat, and definitely for the faint of heart of stomach. I am reproducing in its entirety the article which brought back to me these meanderings of mine ....
Time to observe and absorb
Wilfred Sultana
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080416/opinion/time-to-observe-and-absorb
Some are more sure than others of Malta's potential as a yachting hub. Some
are more concerned than others about the urgent needs of the local yachting
industry. Some are more perplexed than others for Malta not keeping pace with
the development of this industry. Some are more downcast than others knowing
that, while countries surrounding us have developed yachting facilities, in most
cases many years after us, they have overtaken us and are miles ahead of us in
terms of the facilities and services they offer.
I do not intend to mention Malta and our yachting industry any further
because, at times, it is important to observe and absorb what is going on around
you. I came across a report drawn up by Stat-USA/internet, a service of the US
Department of Commerce, and posted on the website of Industry Canada, which I
felt like sharing. The title of the report was Opportunities In Italy For US
Companies Operating In The Design, Planning And Management Of Marinas.
The development and expansion of existing marinas in Italy represents a major
opportunity for US companies operating in related sectors. The Italian
government is planning to build a coherent network of marinas that will boost
the national economy. To achieve this important objective both the regional
governments and the port authorities are working on several projects. In some
cases, especially when the southern regions are involved, there are also
European grants available.
The development of marinas is closely related to the tourism market. Recent
data from Istat (the Italian national institute of statistics) indicates an
increasing number of tourists interested specifically in the nautical tourism
sector. This data reinforces the necessity to renew Italy's marine
infrastructure in order to boost the local economy and the pleasure boat market
for both foreign and national tourists. Italy faces tough competition from other
Mediterranean countries, such as Spain, France and Greece in the EU, Tunisia and
Morocco in North Africa and even Turkey. All these countries will undercut
Italian nautical tourism if the country doesn't begin to provide appropriate
infrastructure. Now, with a favourable euro exchange rate, competition from
non-EU members is getting stronger, because Europeans always find it easy to go
abroad.
Surveys have highlighted two distinct problems regarding the Italian marinas:
(1) marinas are few and poorly distributed along the national territory; (2)
most marinas are inefficient and obsolete.
Comparing a southern region to a northern one can be useful to draw a picture
of the divided situation of the country. Calabria, a large southern region
surrounded by three seas with hundreds of miles of coastline, has about 2,000
mooring berths while Liguria, a northern region smaller than Calabria with a
smaller coastline, offers almost 16,000 berths.
The northern regions count for 58 per cent of all available moorings in Italy
whereas the 42 per cent in the southern regions include the islands of Sicily
and Sardinia, which are considered southern regions.
The fact that most of the work that has to be done to stimulate the expansion
of Italian marinas is situated in the south of the country is a positive factor.
The Italian government and the European Union will fund targeted projects in key
sectors (marine/transport infrastructure among them) to encourage the
development of southern Italy.
The Italian government is trying to adapt Italian ports to the increasing
demands of marinas to permit them to host recreational crafts. The government's
plan starts with renovating existing marinas. To achieve this major objective,
Sviluppo Italia, the Italian government's internal development agency, created a
company called Italia Navigando. This company is actively programming and
implementing several initiatives to build a well-developed network of marinas in
nine years. It plans to reconvert existing marinas and build new ones if
necessary.
The project is important because it is part of a higher-scale development
venture that aims to integrate marinas with tourism centres that will help to
develop southern Italy's economy. Italia Navigando supervises the whole project
from the initial planning to financing, implementation and, in some cases, the
management of the new structure. This new network will be composed of 50
marinas: 40 in southern Italy and 10 in the centre-north of the country. The
project is to be in place within nine years and is divided in three triennial
plans. For the first triennial plan Italia Navigando expects to connect 20
marinas. The estimated overall cost is of €270 million. The Italian government
will invest €200 million in this project.
European financing, together with national and regional financing, will allow
investments totalling about €9 billion in the region of Campania. The regional
government intends to create a regional network of marinas to support
development of tourism and boost the local economy. According to the regional
plans, several marinas will be reconverted to improve infrastructure and the
quantity and quality of services provided. The most important marina development
project in Campania will be in the province of Caserta. The new structure plans
to have about 1,000 mooring berths and all the required structures to guarantee
a functional sea connection. Something like €35-40 million will be invested in
this project.
The main objective in Sicily regarding the development of marinas is to build
a network of Sicilian marinas that will maximise the advantages of the island's
strategic geographic position. Positioned between the northern Mediterranean and
the African coasts, Sicily will be able to provide quality services to pleasure
boats as it lies on the crossroads of tourist flows across the Mediterranean.
The project is to build a well-developed network of marinas that will allow
yachts to circumnavigate the island in assisted stages with a maximum distance
of about 30 nautical miles.
One needs go no further. To survive, our yachting industry must have an
immediate regeneration solution. No long-term plans are feasible any longer.
Malta's 2,000 yachting berths on our five existing marinas are all taken up,
with application lists for berths constantly growing longer. Yet, most serious
of all, the local trade cannot service requests by foreign yachts planning to
visit Malta this summer, I mean in two months' time, because no berths are
available. Yes, it is important to observe and absorb, but
then?