Maltese company wins oil spill recovery contract
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) of the European Commission has awarded a three-year service contract for standby oil spill recovery and incident response for the Eastern Mediterranean to Tankship Management Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of...
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) of the European Commission has awarded a three-year service contract for standby oil spill recovery and incident response for the Eastern Mediterranean to Tankship Management Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Virtu Holdings Ltd.
The contract was signed yesterday in Brussels by Willem de Ruiter, EMSA executive director, and Francis Portelli, managing director of Tankship Management Ltd.
The vessel Mistra Bay, owned by Island Bunker Oils Group, will be undergoing a €2 million refit at Cassar Ship Repair yard for the installation of state of the art oil spill recovery equipment.
The Groups' other vessels, Anchor Bay, Golden Bay and Ramla Bay, are also equipped for ship-to-ship transfer of petroleum products.
ISM certified by Lloyd's Register, Tankship Management is the lead company in a consortium that includes Virtù Ferries Ltd and the Island Bunker Oils Group.
EMSA contracted ships and operators will respond primarily to oil spills in international and national waters in the area allocated to them. However, when logistically and technically possible, they will assist in other high priority areas.
Following a request for assistance by an EU member state, an EFTA (European Free Trade Area) country or by the European Commission, the vessels will be promptly mobilised to the disaster area to combat the oil spill, recovering oil from the sea and the stricken vessels.
EMSA has designated four high priority action areas namely the Baltic Sea, western approaches to the English Channel, the Atlantic coast and the Mediterranean (east). An EMSA standby oil spill recovery and incident response centre is being set up in each of these areas.
The contract covers the area of Greece, Sicily, southern Italy, Cyprus, Malta, the Adriatic Sea, the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea.
The contract provides for periodic training of the company's ship's officers and crew in combating oil pollution at sea and participation at sea exercises within the allocated areas.