Capt R Gabriele CMILT, FNIHead, Pollution and Incident Response

Ports & Yachting Directorate

Malta Transport Centre

Marsa MRS 1917

Tel: +356 22914420

Mob: +356 99494312

Fax: +356 22914429

Email: richard.gabriele@transport.gov.mt

Transport Malta’s duties

and responsibilities

CALYPSO Project

Kick off meeting

Polo Universitario

Lungomare Dante Alighieri

Trapani

15-16 May 2011

Putting you in the picture:

MALTA• Population: 406,771

(July 2010 est.)

• Coastline: 196.8 km

• Area: 316 km sq

• Territorial Sea: 12nm

• Contiguous Zone: 24nm

• Excl. Fishing Zone: 25nm

• Industries: Tourism,electronics, ship building and repair, construction, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, footwear, clothing, tobacco, aviation services, financial services, information technology services

Malta’s Location

Malta’s Location (2)

The Authority

• Transport Malta is the Authority for Transport in Malta set up by the Authority for Transport in Malta Act and started functioning on 1st January 2010.

• All employees are civilian and not military

• Took over all duties of the previous Malta Maritime Authority, Civil Aviation Department and Malta Transport Authority

• 8 Directorates:

– Corporate Services Directorate

– Enforcement Directorate

– Ports and Yachting Directorate

– Merchant Shipping Directorate

– Land Transport Directorate

– Roads and Infrastructure Directorate

– Integrated Transport Strategy Directorate

– Civil Aviation Directorate

– Information and Communication Technology Directorate

The Authority (2)

Ports and Yachting Directorate (PYD):

Responsibilities:

• Preserving the good order in internal and territorial waters

• Vessel Traffic Services (VTS)

• Management of all vessel traffic in Maltese territorial waters

• Safety of navigation

• Overall control of port work and provision of port workers

• Prevention and control of pollution and emergency response

• Provision of pilotage

• Firefighting facilities

• Supplies and other ship requirements

• Regulating, controlling and promoting yachting centres

National Competent Authority

• Transport Malta (TM) is the National Competent Authority (NCA) for matters relating to pollution at sea and for other emergencies at sea, including the allocation of a Place of Refuge, but excludes SAR

• Responsible to ensure Malta’s compliance to IMO Conventions and applicable EU directives/regulations

• Overall command during an incident at sea

• To manage response units and equipment

National Competent Authority

(2)

• Support of:

– Civil Protection Department (CPD)

– Armed Forces of Malta (AFM)

– Malta Environment and Planning

Authority (MEPA)

– Police

– Private contractors

Pollution & Incident

Response Unit

The Pollution and Incident Response Unit is TM’s operational Unit within the Ports & Yachting Directorate.

Main functions and responsibilities:

• To take overall command during any incident at sea including salvage operations

• Emergency preparedness and response in ports and territorial waters

• Maintain and implement the National Marine Pollution Contingency Plan (NMPCP)

Pollution & Incident

Response Unit (2)

• Maintain and implement the plan on Places of Refuge in accordance with local and international legislative requirements

• Focal point in relation to pollution and incident response matters to IMO, REMPEC, EC & EMSA

• To monitor compliance with national legislation and implement the OPRC Convention

Contingency Plans

• All terminals and facilities have

approved emergency contingency

plans

• 6 oil terminals in Valletta and 5 in

Marsaxlokk

• 1 LPG terminal in Marsaxlokk

Response

• TM is responsible to ensure Malta’s

preparedness to respond to an incident

• Government and private entities own

various types of equipment

– Inshore/offshore booms

– Skimmers

– Salvage pumps

– Sorbents etc.

– Small vessels

– Firefighting/pollution response tug

Response (2)

• Apart from the local assets EMSA has 18

response vessels on standby under a

charter party

• Various types - tankers/bunker barges,

dredgers, supply vessels etc

• Equipped with booms, skimmers and

sweeping arms, oil separators, etc

• Are trading mainly in the area where based

and can be mobilised in 24 hours

EMSA response vessels in

the MediterraneanEMSA response vessels:

• 2 Central Med – Valletta (MT)

• 2 West Med – Algeciras (SP) & La Spezia (IT)

• 2 – East Med – Piraeus (GR)

• 1 – Black Sea – Constanza (RO)

(The two vessels based in Valletta and the one in La Spezia are Maltese owned and operated)

Exercises

• A national exercise once a year

• Attended by observers from EMSA and

REMPEC

• Use of local and EMSA chartered response

vessels.

• Coordinated from TM’s Emergency Control

Centre in Marsa which is equipped with a

full VTS workstation

• Deployment and operation of equipment

Exercises (2)

• Terminals conduct regular exercises

• TM participates as observer

• Meetings with stakeholders to discuss

any issues

Exercises (3)

• Inflatable offshore boom

The importance of Project

CALYPSO• In the Med tide is not any issue but

wind and currents are

• Real time information on wind and sea

state exist

• Real time information on currents is

lacking

• Important to have real time

information during an emergency

The importance of Project

CALYPSO (2)

• Real time information is required to be

able to compile predictions

• Needed to be able to plan SAR and

response operations

• Required to compile statistical

patterns of rate and direction of drift to

compile long term predictions

WP4.2 – Bi-lateral

co-operationTM would be leading this WP with the

following aims:

• Exchange of information between all those

involved in response operations

• To hold meetings between the Maltese and

Italian Authorities involved

• To promote expertise in the field

• To aid in planning for common co-

ordination of operational activities

WP4.2 – Bi-lateral

co-operation (2)• Sharing of knowledge, facilities, equipment

and support in the use of data

• To establish protocols for daily and emergency operations

• Partners to agree to commit themselves to maintain the equipment

• To device national monitoring programmes in the two countries

• The integration of the project within operational activities

Proposed initial activities

• Initial meeting will be held with the Maltese entities responsible for SAR and operational response (week 21/22)

• If necessary further meeting/s with Italian Maritime Authorities

• Maritime Authorities to submit details on current set up and responsibilities of their related maritime activities

• Where necessary further bi-lateral meetings will be held

• Will be setting deadlines which will be communicated following the meeting with the Maltese partners

Conclusion

Such a project should be given all

support especially by those entities

and agencies which are directly

involved

I AM SURE THAT WITH THE

SUPPORT OF ALL WE WILL

DELIVER

Thank you

for your

attention