As Malta has one of the world’s largest registries of heavy polluting ships, a veteran scientist is urging the Maltese government to lobby for stricter air-quality controls.
Research conducted by University of Malta professor Raymond Ellul has found that nearly 1,300 transhipment vessels fly the Maltese flag – making up 10 per cent of the global total.
In fact, there are double the number of these massive ships flying the Maltese flag than are on the UK registry and five times the number registered in nearby Greece. 
Read: Malta’s air pollution among the worst in Europe
Malta-registered ships, Prof. Ellul found, produced nearly 200 kilotons of emissions annually, around a tenth of the global total.
According to the European Environment Agency, 60,000 people die every year as a result of shipping emissions.

Earlier this month, The Sunday Times of Malta reported that huge ships sailing or bunkering just off Malta generated more toxic emissions than the equivalent of 30 Marsa power stations, and lax rules in the Mediterranean meant they were using some of the most polluting fuel available.
Prof. Ellul said, however, there was still hope. Malta, he said, had a veto on the…