The Maltese Association of Tractor and Trailer Operators (ACT) denounced that EU rules on the decarbonisation of the maritime sector lead to a significant increase in the cost of maritime transport between Malta and continental Europe. The association explained that since yesterday, for example, they have been in force on the Malta-Genoa route new fees for the surcharge that combines the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), the European FuelEU Maritime Regulation and the coefficient of change in fuel cost Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF), and this can have an overall impact on the a sector that could reach about 35 million euros per year. The ETS obliging ships above a certain carrying capacity calling at EU ports to buy CO2 emission allowances, with FuelEU items typically covering compliance costs environmental objectives of the sector and with the BAF which is applied to compensate for fluctuations in the price of fuel.

ACT specified that this leads to an increase in the surcharge for a trailer travelling between Genoa and Malta, which goes from 35 to 39 euros per linear meter, equal to 530.40 euros per towing each way. The same amount applies to the return, so a round trip Genoa-Malta-Genoa involves 1,060.80 euros Surcharges only. These rates will remain in force until the next 31 December and will then be reviewed every quarter.

According to ACT, every year between Malta and Italian ports, Genoa, more than 55,000 trailers travel. Applying the new tariffs, the association estimates an additional cost for the Maltese economy of about 35 million euros a year. The association highlighted that this is a sharp increase compared to the December 2025 estimate, when ATTO had quantified in about 16.5 million per year the effect of the ETS supplements alone. The tariffs - specified ATTO - are valid at European level and they concern all connections with Malta.

The president of the association, Joseph Bugeja, defined the increases a burden that European Union policy imposes on everyone Maltese citizens simply because Malta is an island, and is bound to have repercussions on businesses and, in the end, on all Maltese consumers. Stressing that, in the Unlike most continental European countries, Maltese businesses have no alternative, Bugeja urged Maltese authorities to challenge a policy designed to Europe as a whole is applied to an island economy without take appropriate account of geographical disadvantage.