Members and guests of the Malta Maritime Forum were invited to participate in a progress meeting held with the aim of keeping the maritime sector abreast with developments in the industry.
The meeting was attended by over 50 guests and was moderated by Angelique Maggi, the vice chairman of the Malta Mediterranean Hub.
MMH have recently taken over the ex-Marsa Shipbuilding facility to develop it into a maritime hub specialising in the specific requirements of the oil, gas and marine sectors.
The session was opened by Joe Borg, chairman of the forum, who handed over certificates to 12 students who successfully attended the Marine Induction Course held by the Malta Maritime Forum in conjunction with MMRTC and approved by Transport Malta.
The issue that mostly concerned participants was the impact on cargo handling once the UK concludes the Brexit negotiations
The session included a number of presentations. The first was delivered by Aldo Drago, physical oceanography research group coordinator, University of Malta, who spoke about ‘Marine intelligence – Serving sea-based data where and when it counts’. The second presentation focused on maritime satellite solutions and was delivered by Joe Apa, vice president maritime for Central, Northern Europe and the US.
Two other presentations were delivered by Joseph Meli, responsible for marketing and operations at the Mediterranean Maritime Research and Training Centre Co-op Soc. Ltd, and David Fleri Soler, head of sales and business development of the Express Group.
In the second session, Davin Kort, CEO of Valletta Gateway Terminals Ltd, explained the vision and mission of the Valletta terminal. An update of the forum’s new website was delivered by Lisa Camilleri, executive secretary of the forum.
The Malta General Registrar of Shipping and Seamen, Ivan Sammut, spoke on ‘Ship registration under the Malta flag’. He listed the various advantages deriving from the registration of vessels under the Malta flag, today is classified as the number-one flag in Europe and the sixth in the world.
During question time, one issue that mostly concerned participants was the impact on cargo handling once the UK concludes the Brexit negotiations.
Joseph Bugeja, CEO of the Malta Maritime Forum, grasped the opportunity to take participants through the initiatives of the forum in the various sectors dealt by it, including education, port services and operations, media coverage and internationalisation.
Those present were invited to a networking social event to exchange views on the topics tackled during the morning session. The forum thanked its members and Bank of Valletta for their continued support.