Albania to Extend Speed Boat Ban

“These small and fast vessels have nothing in common with toursim, but are totally an industry of the mafia and trafficking,” said Prime Minister Sali Berisha during the cabinet meeting.

The Albanian premier added that if necessary the moratorium would be extended indefinitely as long as he remains in power.

The moratorium, installed in 2005, expired in October. The law affected around 2,000 local speedboat owners, and aimed to stop traffickers in both people and drugs who use speedboats to reach the shores of Italy and Greece.

The only small motorised vessels allowed to venture out into the sea from Albanian shores are police, customs and fishing boats, and foreign-owned tourist yachts.

Speedboats were commonly used in the 1990s to traffic migrants and drugs from Albania to Italy, but following closer cooperation between Albania and its neighbours, there has been a decline in their use.

Critics say that the law is unnecessary and is hurting Albania’s tourism industry. Reacting to the government’s decision, the opposition Socialist Party called the bill unconstitutional and a sign of the government’s failure to stop illegal trafficking.

“During the three years of the moratorium the government has made no infrastructure investments to thwart illegal trafficking and now is opting for a shortcut that affects all vessels,” said Socialist deputy Saimir Tahiri in a press conference.

“We ask the president of the republic to not decree this law, which is not only unique but also absurd, otherwise the Socialist Party will appeal its legality in the constitutional court,” he added.