MALTA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Ann Fenech, Adrian Attard, Martina Farrugia and Daniel-Luc Farrugia, Fenech & Fenech Advocates
Introduction Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Malta enjoys a long-standing tradition as a mari - time nation of repute, going back centuries. Its geographical position on the rum line between Gibraltar, Suez, the shores of the southern Euro - pean mainland and North Africa has enabled Malta to successfully develop and nurture every facet of its maritime activity, including but not limited to ship repair, pilotage, towage, bunker - ing, cruise line operations, trans-shipment, car - go operations, bunkering and yachting. Malta has also established itself as a promi - nent leading flag of choice for the registration of vessels. Today, the Maltese flag boasts being the largest in Europe, and ranks among the top ten registries worldwide. The Maltese flag also enjoys “white list” status under the Paris and Tokyo Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), serving as a testament to the high standards maintained by the flag in ensuring that its fleet abides by the requirements of almost all the major international maritime law conventions and treaties, which Malta has adopted. Malta maintains its status as a go-to jurisdic - tion for ship-owners, charterers and financiers alike, as it offers the global shipping community a reputable ship registry within the European Union (EU), regulated by an efficient and robust legal system. Over recent years, Malta has also made signifi - cant inroads in the superyacht sector, attracting some of the world’s largest and most luxurious yachts. Today, Malta is regarded as a world leader in the registration of superyachts. This success is supported by the legal protection afforded to financiers, effective tax structuring options and a sound legal system, and stream - lined importation procedures which the Maltese
jurisdiction has to offer. The superyacht sector in Malta has grown exponentially over the last decade or so, with the number of yachts (of over 24m) flying the Maltese flag increasing from 100 in 2007 to over 1,100 in 2023. This article will focus on recent trends and devel - opments affecting the Maltese maritime sector, which the authors believe will continue to shape the industry in the next 12 months. The EU ETS Directive: Continued Interest in Opening Accounts Under the Malta Union Registry As anticipated in last year’s edition, 2024 marked a notable surge of interest from industry stake - holders in establishing both trading and hold - ing accounts under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in Malta. The new obligations introduced by the extension of the EU ETS to maritime transport came into force on 1 January 2024. The urgency to meet compliance dead - lines has particularly driven the demand for holding accounts, given their critical role in facili - tating the surrender of allowances as required under the scheme. To address these new obligations, the Maltese government injected additional resources into the Maltese National Administrator to ensure that it bolsters the Malta Union Registry’s capac - ity to process account applications and other administrative requirements as efficiently as possible. The Administrator’s commitment to seamless support is a vital component in meet - ing the growing needs of ship-owners, manag - ers, brokers and other entities seeking to estab - lish accounts. Stakeholders who have set up and are using holding accounts are now well positioned to manage their obligations under the EU ETS,
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