Readiness for sea accidents

Reading the reports regarding the boat that caught fire in Marsamxett Harbour on Monday, I cannot but wonder: Are we as a country prepared to deal with maritime accidents? It is of great concern to me, as a Maltese citizen, to read that there was one vessel from the Civil Protection Department dousing the flames that engulfed the trimaran and a fire engine waiting on shore.

With all due respect, what could a fire engine have done to assist in a situation in the middle of the harbour?

As I am led to believe, accidents at sea require rapid response and I very much doubt that the vessel shown in the pictures has the capability of getting to a distress area quickly. I stand to be corrected of course.

What if, let's say, a yacht caught fire in the Mellieħa area? What response times would we see?

With Malta witnessing an increased number of cruise liners visiting our harbours, and increased air traffic, one wonders: Have the authorities thought of possible situations that might arise?

And are the Civil Protection Department and Armed Forces of Malta's Maritime Squadron geared up to deal with such situations?

The Italian Coast Guard has a new breed of boats to be used as rapid response units in the case of an accident involving aircraft on approach to airports close to the sea (as in our case), fires on vessels and also as sea ambulances.

Isn't it time for us to invest in such equipment? Or do we have to wait for a serious accident to happen to realise that we suffer from a lack of resources?

As always, prevention is better than cure.