New oil-spill response base set up

A local company has teamed up with a foreign group to set up a new oil spill response base in Malta to service the central Mediterranean region.

The joint venture brings together the Briggs Group, with its long experience in operational marine and oil spill response, and Alpha Oil Services and Trading Ltd, a Maltese company with 15 years of experience in Mediterranean oil and gas and shipping.

The two will work together as a new company, Alpha Briggs Mediterranean Ltd, the government said on Wednesday in announcing the venture.

Their base will be housed in a new facility being provided by Malta Enterprise and will act as a training and regional hub.

The venture will provide Malta with a professional force to respond in case of disasters at sea, especially in view of the ever increasing traffic sailing just to the north of Malta.

It will support the operational capability of Alpha as a member of OSRAM (Oil Spill Response Alliance for the Mediterranean).

Glyn Humphries, chairman of Alpha Briggs Mediterranean Ltd, will be working very closely with Paul Pisani, the resident director in Malta, the government said.

A 12-month intensive training programme has been launched to train new responders from Malta and other regional coastal states. Mobilisation of response equipment has already begun with a significant deployment of ready-to-go assets being stationed at the Maltese base.

The new company has also engaged in logistical support contracts with Maltese vessel operators and transportation providers.

Francis Zammit Dimech, Minister for Tourism and Culture, commended this initiative saying that an efficient oil spill response mechanism was imperative to protect the tourism industry in Malta.

The Ministry for Tourism and Culture, which has responsibility for the Oil Pollution Response Module, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Alpha providing for cooperation. This has strengthened Malta's oil spill combating capabilities, said the minister.