Another visit to Malta and another wide variety of ships around the island. Many passed in the distance or were anchored off the coast, beyond camera
range. Luckily, the usual vantage points were as good as ever, the only disappointment being the lack of activity at Malta Shipyards which are currently
seeking new investors. Click on the thumbnails to see larger images or click on a link to one of the following:
COSTA PACIFICA
I first saw COSTA PACIFICA after she had sailed from Valletta's Grand Harbour on the evening of September 11th, as shown
in the first two photos. The following week she returned and provided an excellent photo opportunity while she was alongside, from the harbour cruise boat.
LE PONANT
An early start on the morning of September 14th saw the arrival of LE PONANT. She swung off the
entrance to the Grand Harbour as her sails were taken down. I caught up with her later that day when I found her moored below the Upper Barracca Gardens.
MSC SPLENDIDA
The largest cruise ship to visit Malta during my stay was the MSC SPLENDIDA. I saw her arrive on the morning of September
16th and she was alongside in the Grand Harbour later that day, when another harbour cruise seemed like a good idea...
BLEU DE FRANCE
As the aforementioned harbour cruise was drawing to an end, the BLEU DE FRANCE passed through Valletta's breakwater and
provided yet another excellent photo opportunity. She swung in front of the MSC SPLENDIDA before berthing and was passed
by the inbound ferry MARIA DOLORES, making a busy scene in the harbour.
The Gozo Ferry TA'PINU made her way out of Marsamxett Harbour on September 17th, on her return voyage with freight to Malta's neighbouring
island.
The COSTA MARINA was briefly spotted at sea after having sailed from Valletta on September 17th. Not quite a cruise ship,
but just as impressive was the motor yacht MARTHA ANN, which spent a couple of days moored in Marsamxett Harbour. And last, but
not least, the Sicily ferry MARIA DOLORES was seen entering the Grand Harbour on September 14th.
POWER EXPRESS
The POWER EXPRESS was moored in the harbour all week long. The first photograph was taken across the water from the Upper
Barracca Gardens, while the rest were taken from the harbour cruise boats.
SEA JAGUAR
The SEA JAGUAR became a common sight in Valletta. I first saw her on the morning of September 13th just after she had left
her berth and was heading for the open sea. She was back alongside on September 18th.
OTHER OFFSHORE SUPPORT VESSELS
The crewboat JOYCE McCALL made a couple of voyages to and from Valletta on September 13th. The first picture shows her
making good speed as she approaches the Grand Harbour. Research vessels RAMFORM VANGUARD and REMUS
called at Valletta on September 14th and 15th respectively, the former being alongside as the EUROCARGO ISTANBUL passed the cruise terminal.
EUROCARGO ISTANBUL
A regular caller at Valletta, the EUROCARGO ISTANBUL was an impressive sight as she entered the Grand Harbour, swung and
manoeuvred to her berth on September 14th. The last photo of her was taken four days later when she was alongside.
RAS MAERSK
The tanker RAS MAERSK was photographed alongside on the afternoon of September 18th. She had arrived earlier the same day.
SUZIE Q
The SUZIE Q stayed in Valletta for the last few days of my visit. The first photo was taken from across the water, and the
others from the harbour cruise boat.
CHALLENGER and ANJA
The two dry cargo coasters CHALLENGER and ANJA were both alongside during a harbour cruise on September 16th.
MISCELLANEOUS VESSELS
Fishing vessel ENZA MADRE was in Valletta on September 13th. The general cargo vessel AGGELIKI was spotted approaching the
port during the hazy afternoon of September 16th. Dry cargo vessel A.J.D.1 and fishing vessel KYUNG
YANG No.1 were alongside on September 18th and on the same day, tug PAWLINA was waiting to pull a cruise ship from her berth.
PASSAT SPRING
A brief visit to Malta Freeport, close to the fishing village of Marsaxlokk, on September 17th proved to be more eventful than anticipated. Soon after sitting on the beach
to admire the view, tugs began manoeuvring the Hapag-Lloyd chartered PASSAT SPRING from her berth. Before long, she was on
the way to her next port of call, La Spezia.
VILLE DE DUBAI and KARINA
Not long afterwards, the feeder vessel VILLE DE DUBAI came into view and was assisted to her berth by a tug. Coincidentally,
she is a sister of the KARINA which was alongside an adjacent berth as seen in the last picture, below.
CMA CGM NABUCCO
The only other vessel of which I could get a decent photograph was the 8,488 TEU CMA CGM NABUCCO which was alongside on the
inner berth, dwarfing the 862 TEU CMA CGM CASABLANCA which was moored astern of her. The larger 11,388 TEU CMA CGM ANDROMEDA
was on an outer berth but I was only able to get a shot of her stern, together with that of the STADT GOSLAR.
MALTA FREEPORT TERMINAL
Despite not having enough time to wander around the coast to get better images of some of the vessels, I did manage to get some reasonable views of the
Malta Freeport terminal. While approaching Luqa Airport from the South on arrival, our plane came in nice and low over the terminal, enabling me to get
a few quick snapshots of the terminal from above, before it disappeared from view under the wing of the aircraft. The large blue vessel in the first two
images is the 11,040 TEU CMA CGM THALASSA and the red vessel in the foreground is the 1,710 TEU
KING BASIL. During my visit later in the week, I was able to take a panoramic view across the water from the beach at Pretty Bay.
