Michael Zammit Maempel has been appointed to lead the legal department of the Mediterranean Maritime Hub, as it gears to become a leading international destination to service the marine, oil and gas industry.

Dr Zammit Maempel was one of Malta’s first lawyers qualified in data protection law and will soon also graduate from Queen Mary University in London where he specialised in cloud computing law, one of the most current areas of legal study, underpinning most of the internet services and technologies society depends on today.

“We want the Mediterranean Maritime Hub to be a future-proof innovator in its field, providing the very best expertise and support to marine, oil and gas industry players all over the world. We need the best young minds on the island to make it happen. Dr Zammit Maempel is therefore a great addition to the team and will undoubtedly assist our global outlook with robust legal thinking,” said MMH CEO Stephen Colville.

“This is a welcome new challenge for me because it allows me to set up and organise a legal department from scratch within a Stock Exchange-listed entity that is leading the way and innovating. The team is moving full speed ahead in the right direction and this fills me with the confidence,” said Dr Zammit Maempel.

The Mediterranean Maritime Hub Finance plc last month began trading on the Malta Stock Exchange after its issue of €15 million in unsecured bonds was oversubscribed.

The funds will be used to develop the Mediterranean Maritime Hub into a service centre for the marine, oil and gas industry, across circa 170,000-square-metre site of the former Marsa Shipbuilding. The site was taken over by Ablecare Oilfield Services Holdings earlier this year, after it won a competitive bid by the government, which will see an investment of around €50 million over the next 10 years.