The Atlantic-Ionian current could result in oil spills being dragged along Maltese shores.

Oil spill tracking technology will play a vital role in search and rescue operations for immigrants within the framework of an Italo-Maltese project.

The EU-funded Calypso project is part of the Malta-Italia 2007-2013 programme and includes three high-frequency radar installations on the northern shores of Malta and southern Sicily, according to the Sicilian focal point of the initiative. The radars, two in Malta and one in Pozzallo, will record the surface sea currents in the channel between the two islands and create a real time map of oil spills in the area.

Addressing a press conference to mark the closing of the project’s development stage, Sicilian focal point director Giuseppe Ciriaolo said the technology would also prove invaluable in the tracking of migrants’ boats adrift in the Mediterranean.

“The primary use of this technology is to track oil spills but I believe it could help us understand the travel routes that migrants’ vessels take when they are engineless and carried by currents,” Dr Ciriaolo said.

One of the two radars erected in Malta as part of the oil spill tracking technology.

Transport Malta’s ports director, Richard Gabriele, acknowledged the important role the technology could play in shortening response times in search and rescue operations. “We are always working to deploy faster and to be more effective in these operations,” he said.

Capt. Gabriele explained that the next step would be to devise an operational working plan to fit within the existing rescue protocol between Malta and Italy.

The Armed Forces of Malta liaised with Italian rescue operators on several SAR missions this summer, the bulk of which occurred last month.

Environment Minister Leo Brincat said he hoped the technology would allow decisions to be taken promptly on the sensitive migrant issue.

The Maltese focal point director, Aldo Drago, said oil spill monitoring was essential if Malta was to avoid what could be a serious environmental problem.

Some 20 per cent of the world’s oil shipments pass through the Mediterranean. Dr Drago said preliminary scans showed high numbers of spills and leaks between Malta and Sicily this summer.

“There is an intense shipping track here. Oil spills are not our only concern. We also face the illegal dumping of oil,” he noted, explaining that the technology’s tracking system would allow the authorities to pinpoint the source of a spill and take legal action.

Once a spill occurs, Malta faces further danger as the Atlantic-Ionian current, which circles around the island, could result in oil spills hitting Malta more than once.

“We are aware of these dangers. This technology is another positive step towards monitoring the situation,” Dr Drago said.