SafeMed trained VTS Operators certified to IALA standards

A first group of vessel traffic services operators trained by Safe Med have been certified to the required standards by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities.

Fifteen candidates from Israel completed their VTS simulator training in Malta at the VTS training facilities of Future Focus Ltd, the training provider accredited by the Maltese authorities and issued the IALA V-103/1 certificate. The theoretical courses were held earlier in Israel. Nine more candidates from Albania, Jordan and Montenegro are expected to complete their VTS operator training this month.

In the meantime, Ecole Nationale Supérieure Maritime of Marseille is providing VTS operator training to several Moroccan and Tunisian candidates. Theoretical courses in both Casablanca and Tunis are ongoing and six simulator training courses are scheduled to take place in the coming months at ENSM’s premises in Marseille.

The SafeMed II Project will be also providing further VTS training for VTS Supervisors (V-103/2) and VTS On-the-Job Trainers (V-103/4).

This training enables VTS officers who work with, or intend to work with, existing VTS installations to improve their qualifications to reach a level of qualification meeting IALA standards. Candidate VTS Operators from six Safe Med II Project beneficiaries, namely Albania, Israel, Jordan, Montenegro, Morocco and Tunisia, are participating in this training.