The Ports & Yachting Directorate, which besides being the port authority for all the ports in Malta also has a regulatory role in monitoring the activities of boats trading in local waters and managerial role in respect of port facilities under the control of the Authority. In fact, the Directorate is responsible for:
• Preservation of good order in internal and territorial waters;
• Safety of navigation;
• Overall control of port work and the provision of port workers;
• Provision of port workers;
• Prevention and control of pollution, including the control of ship-generated wastes;
• Ensure the provision of technical nautical services, fire fighting facilities, supplies and other ship requirements;
• Licensing of marine commercial craft;
• The management of port facilities and
• The compilation of maritime statistics.
Moreover, the Directorate is also responsible for ensuring that, following the port privitisation process that took place in recent years whereby most of the port related services, including cargo operations, passenger operations and technical nautical services are carried out by the private sector, private operators comply with the contractual obligations.
The Ports Directorate is composed of three units, as follows:
• Port Operations and Facilities Unit;
• Harbour Master and Marine Unit;
• Pollution and Incident Response Unit