Malta Maritime Authority (MMA, ''Awtorità Marittima ta' Malta'') used to be an independent

state corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

and

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

that is responsible for the governance, operation, regulation and promotion of the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

s of the Mediterranean

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

nation of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. Operation of the principal cargo port,

Malta Freeport Malta Freeport ( Maltese: ''Il-Port Ħieles'') is an international port on the island of Malta with a trade volume of 3.06 million TEUs in 2015.

, is done in conjunction with Malta Freeport Terminals, a company established in 1988. Malta's smaller ports provide service to

pleasure craft Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether Motorboat, powerboats, Sailing, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sp ...

and yacht marinas, ferry services, the

fishing industry The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including ...

and local trade. The MMA's Ports Directorate is the

port authority In Canada and the United States, a port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other t ...

for all ports in Malta. The Malta International Ship Register is a department of the MMA. As from 2010 the MMA no longer exists as a separate entity but forms part of Transport Malta, a governmental institution which encompasses transport control of the islands over sea, land and air.

Major ports

has a rich maritime heritage, and principal ports include:MMA, Port Notices, Ports
*

Malta Freeport Malta Freeport ( Maltese: ''Il-Port Ħieles'') is an international port on the island of Malta with a trade volume of 3.06 million TEUs in 2015.

at Marsaxlokk Harbour is the nation's principal

cargo port A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

. *

Grand Harbour The Grand Harbour ( mt, il-Port il-Kbir; it, Porto Grande), also known as the Port of Valletta, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been substantially modified over the years with extensive docks (Malta Dockyard), wharves, and ...

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

is a cargo port that has been in operation since the times of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

. *

Marsamxett Harbour Marsamxett Harbour (), historically also referred to as Marsamuscetto, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It is located to the north of the larger Grand Harbour. The harbour is generally more dedicated to leisure use than the Grand Ha ...

has pleasure boat

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

References

External links

Malta Maritime Authority official siteMalta Freeport official siteGozo Channel Company, providing ferry servicesInternational Maritime Law Institute, in Msida, Malta
Defunct government agencies of Malta Water transport in Malta Port authorities Ports and harbours of Malta Government agencies established in 1991 Ship registration 1991 establishments in Malta {{Port-stub

Major ports

See also

References

External links