Stephen Xuereb, Chief Operations Officer of Global Ports Holding (GPH) believes that marine infrastructure is not keeping up with supply, and, whilst various new ships are coming onto the market, there are only a limited number of quays being constructed.

In an article featured in CruiseTimes, Mr Xuereb, who also serves as Chief Executive Office of Valletta Cruise Port plc, explains that with the aim of dealing with this challenge, one of the main quays in Valletta is undergoing expansion.

With nearly two-decade history in business, GPH has now expanded its operations to 27 ports, with the prospect of further growth.It is described as the world's largest cruise port operator, with an established presence in several regions. Mr Xuereb, goes on to explain that one of the company’s core strategies involves investing in the ports it acquires. Since its establishment it has invested €40 million into three ports in the Canary Islands and an additional €2 million into the upscaling of the cruise terminal located in Alicante.

Mr Xuereb emphasises the need for the company to cater to new challenges that arise from time to time, including the onshore power supply, which it has done in the past in collaboration with local authorities. Locally, “the Government has invested in onshore power supply in Valletta, but GPH provided the facilities for laying cables and helped in the project. We are in discussions with governments in other countries where similar models are being developed. If we see opportunities to develop this ourselves, I am sure we will look into it. Of course, there has to be enough traffic to sustain this,” Mr Xuereb explains.

He asserts that the company’s next step is to expand in the Caribbean and the Americas. This comes after last year’s acquisition of Prince Rupert Cruise Port in America.

He also explains that the company is attempting to replicate what was previously done in the Mediterranean, “whereby you have ports close to each other, which can form part of the network we have. We see ports, not as necessarily competing, but being complementary to each other.”