The Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Mohamed Ameen, has stressed the importance of ensuring that the state benefits from maritime activities conducted within the Maldives’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Minister made the remarks in an interview with the state media, PSM News, highlighting the efforts being made to develop and expand the country’s maritime sector.
The government is actively working to expand the services provided under the maritime sector, overseen by the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. The Minister noted that some maritime activities carried out within the EEZ do not yield sufficient benefit the state, largely due to regulatory changes over the years.
"Ship To Ship (STS) transfers of oil and gas are carried out within the Maldives’ EEZ. However, due to changes in regulations, the state does not receive the full benefit of these activities. The profits currently to go private parties that handle them,” the Minister said.
Minister Ameen stressed that maritime activities carried out within the Maldivian EEZ should contribute to national revenue. He said the Ministry is working with relevant agencies to identify and explore work that can be done in this regard.
"We are working with private stakeholders, those who have the technical "know-how", as well as the the Coast Guard, Maldives Ports Limited (MPL), and other relevant parties, to assess what benefits STS can bring to this country. We hope to expedite this work to ensure that the state can better capitalise on this sector” the Minister said.
While STS transfer services are already available in the Maldives, the current government has launched bunkering services to supply fuel to cargo shops. While low-sulphur oil is sourced through the State Trading Organisation (STO), the service has so far generated a revenue of USD 8.04 million.