only 30 were over 15 meters in length; 1,270 of the 

 remaining vessels were under 9 meters long. In 

 addition, there are an estimated 14 other fishing 

 vessels (over 15 meters in length) operated by 

 offshore registered companies in Malta. These 

 vessels are not, however, allowed to fish within the 

 Maltese fishing zone or land any fresh fish in Malta. 

 No further details on these vessels are available, but 

 some are thought to be included in the list of vessels 

 shown in table 2.' In 1993, there were 33 vessels 

 over 100-GRT flying the Maltese flag. This included 

 two vessels over 2,600-GRT and 4 vessels over 

 1,000-GRT. It appears that as many as 17 foreign- 

 flag vessels might have been reflagged in Malta in 

 1993. Information about the fleet is contained in 

 tables 1 and 2. 



People's Republic of China helped Malta build "one 

 of the largest ship-repair docks in southern Europe."' 



The Govenmient of Malta encourages local 

 fishermen to upgrade their fishing vessels and 

 equipment. It gives grants amounting to 40% of the 

 value of the boat, up to a maximum of $33,000, if 

 the purchased boat is imported, and up to $17,500, in 

 the case of locally built vessels. Grants are also 

 given for the purchase of new navigational and other 

 fishing equipment and the replacement of marine 

 engines. During 1992, the Maltese government gave 

 a total of Lm 48,000 in grants to private fishermen. 

 The government has also undertaken to reconstruct 

 the fish market, installing electric winches in most of 

 the important slipways and dredge fishing ports.'" 



3. Modernization Programs 



6. International Agreements 



The Government of Malta embarked upon a fleet 

 modernization program in 1976. The plan called for 

 the construction of 14 to 36 trawlers, well beyond the 

 2 trawlers recommended by the Food and Agriculture 

 Organization of the United Nations* which also 

 provided financial assistance. Experts from North 

 Korea, Greece, and Scotland were called in to 

 provide advice. By 1977, five trawlers had been 

 delivered, but landings were poor and only two of the 

 original vessels (the Hannibal and Nalout) were 

 operating by 1978. In 1978, Malta was forced to 

 import $4.5 million worth of canned, fresh, and 

 frozen fish to meet the needs of the island.' The 

 socialist government then turned to Libya for 

 assistance in the form of a joint venture. 



4. Decommissioning Programs 



The authors are not aware 

 decommissioning programs in Malta. 



of any 



5. Shipyards 



Malta served as an important port for the Royal 

 Navy during World War II and reportedly has the 

 ability to build or repair wooden and steel vessels. In 

 1973, the President of the Mexican company 

 Astilleros Unidos de Mexico held talks with officials 

 of the Malta Drydocks. It was reported that Malta 

 Drydocks would build 12 shrimp trawlers for Brazil 

 and 6 trawlers for Venezuela on behalf of the 

 Mexican company.' It has also been reported that the 



Malta and the Libyan Arab Jamahirija agreed to 

 establish a joint venture fishing company in 

 September 1978." The company, called "Stad U 

 Staghn" (Maltese for "Fish and Get Rich") was to 

 operate 16 trawlers in Maltese and Libyan waters and 

 to market the catch in both countries.'^ Malta 

 reportedly received a $4.4 million loan from the 

 Kuwait Fund for Economic Development to purchase 

 6 to 8 of the vessels." Ten small trawlers were to 

 have been built in the Malta Drydocks. ''' By 1982 

 only 2 of the joint venture's fleet of 3 vessels 

 remained; the Hannibal (operated by a Maltese crew) 

 and the Resound (operated by a Bulgarian crew) . 

 The third vessel (presumed to be the Malout) was out 

 of service because no crew was available to man the 

 vessel." The Maltese-Libyan fishing company 

 reported $2 million in losses between 1978 and 

 1984." During the 1 970s and early 1980s, Malta and 

 Morocco had cooperative agreements in fisheries. In 

 1978, the Government of Morocco loaned Malta two 

 trawlers, the Wahoud and the Malout, as training 

 ships to help the island's fishing industry." Malta 

 and Senegal signed a cooperative fisheries agreement 

 on January 24, 1979, which reportedly allowed 

 Maltese-built fishing vessels to fish in Senegalese 

 waters as part of a Malta/Senegal joint venture 

 fishing company.'* Malta also has reached 

 cooperative agreements with Tunisia" and has 

 cooperated with Japan in fisheries.-" At present, 

 Malta has no valid international fishing agreements, 

 but it is a member of the General Fisheries Council 

 for the Mediterranean.^' 



224 



