Joseph Muscat News

A German non-governmental organisation filed on Friday a court request in Malta calling on the government there to accept 13 Tunisian migrants who it said had been saved from a sinking boat in Malta's search and rescue zone.The NGO Sea Eye, which operates the rescue ship Alan Kurdi, called on Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to respect international law and order the immediate disembarkation of the migrants.It was not immediately clear when Malta would reply to the court filing.Sea Eye said the migrants were rescued by the Alan Kurdi on Aug.

Malta-based IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) informed that 2019 academic year marks its 30th anniversary.According to International Maritime Organization (IMO), a special to celebrate the occasion was held at IMO Headquarters (25 June).Malta's Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, spoke of his country's continuing commitment to hosting such an important global institution, while IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim highlighted IMLI's firm commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.IMLI's overall mission is to help build the legal capacity among IMO member states, particularly developing states, to fulfill their obligations under IMO treaties.

Malta will allow 49 migrants who have been stranded at sea for weeks to disembark in Valletta, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Wednesday, adding that they will then be re-distributed among eight European Union countries.The Sea-Watch 3, a vessel run by a German humanitarian group, plucked 32 people from an unsafe boat off the coast of Libya on Dec. 22. Another German charity, Sea-Eye, rescued 17 others on Dec. 29.They have both been sailing back in forth in Maltese waters for days after Italy, Malta and all other EU countries refused to offer them a port of safety."The migrants will be transferred from the ships to Maltese patrol boats and brought to Malta.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s globally recognized training centre, the IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), has held its 29th annual graduation ceremony at the Maritime Museum in Vittoriosa, Malta (9 June). Fifty-one students from 41 countries graduated from programs covering all areas of international maritime law in a ceremony presided over by IMO Secretary-General and Chair of the IMLI Governing Board, Kitack Lim, who heralded the Institute and congratulated the graduates on their achievement. Prior to the ceremony, Secretary-General Lim paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat in Valletta, and expressed his appreciation to the Prime Minister and the Government of Malta for its continued support to IMLI.

St. On Friday, February 9, Tug Malta’s Damen ASD 2913 was named St. Angelo at a ceremony attended by the Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat, and the island nation’s Minister of Transport, Ian Borg. Acting as sponsor of the vessel was Mrs. Michelle Muscat, the wife of the Prime Minister. Tug Malta is part of the Rimorchiatori Riuniti Group. The ceremony was also attended by Tug Malta Chairman John E. Sullivan and CEO Mario Mizzi, Rimorchiatori Riuniti Group Chiefs Giovanni Delle Piane and Gregorio Gavarone and Damen Sales Manager Antonio Marte.

Customs inspectors in Malta have seized more than 300 kg (660 lb) of cocaine worth millions of euros on a container ship heading from Ecuador to Spain, Maltese officials said on Thursday. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat hailed the find as the biggest drugs seizure in the history of the Mediterranean island. "Well done to Customs and law enforcement authorities," he said in a tweet. The customs department said it had discovered the cocaine stuffed in black hold-all bags in a container that was meant to be holding canned pineapple. The unnamed ship had sailed from Ecuador and had docked at Malta Freeport. It was due to double back to Spain. "It is estimated that the haul has a street value of tens of millions of euro," the customs department said, without giving a precise figure.

The LNG tanker Armada LNG Mediterrana – or floating storage unit that will be permanently berthed at Marsaxlokk has finally left Singapore harbour, reports Malta Independent. The ship is currently making 9 knots and is heading towards the port of Galle in Sri Lanka, where it is expected to arrive on 18 September. Its arrival date in Malta is not yet known. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Minister-without-portfolio Konrad Mizzi travelled to Singapore last month to dispatch the ship but the vessel’s departure was delayed for unknown reasons. The tanker is an essential part of the new gas-fired power station, as it will supply LNG to the onshore regassificator.

The European Union proposed doubling the size of its Mediterranean search and rescue operations on Monday, as the first bodies were brought ashore of some 900 people feared killed in the deadliest shipwreck while trying to reach Europe. Three other rescue operations were underway on Monday to save hundreds more migrants in peril on overloaded vessels making the journey from the north coast of Africa to Europe. The mass deaths have caused shock in Europe, where a decision to scale back naval operations last year seems to have increased the risks for migrants without reducing their numbers. "The situation in the Mediterranean is dramatic.

EU foreign ministers meet in Luxembourg; 24 corpses carried off Italian patrol ship in Malta. Death toll from Sunday's shipwreck off Libya still unclear. European Union foreign ministers gathered in Luxembourg on Monday under pressure to produce more than words as bodies were brought ashore in Malta among hundreds feared drowned in the latest Mediterranean migrant tragedy. The death toll from Sunday's shipwreck off the coast of Libya was uncertain after officials said there had been at least 700 people on board, some reportedly locked in the hold. Hundreds of kilometres (miles) to the east, another vessel carrying dozens of migrants ran aground off the Greek island of Rhodes on Monday. Greek coast guards said at least three people were killed.

Yatching Malta Ltd (YML) - a new public private partnership (PPP) between the government and the Royal Malta Yacht Club (RMYC) was formed with the aim of putting Malta on "the global yachting map". Prime Minister Joseph Muscat launched YML at the club's headquarters in Ta Xbiex. The PPP will be headed by the club's commodore Godwin Zammit and has a two-year rolling business plan. The RMYC-Yachting Malta Ltd (a joint venture) has a 49% stake in the long-term project while the government, through Malta Projects Ltd. has the majority shareholding - 51%. Muscat emphasized the importance of yachting to local industry, not just simply as a pleasurable pursuit but as an asset to the maritime sector that aids economic growth and creates jobs.

Malta and Azerbaijan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the development of a gas hub which would cater for local and international markets, reports the Times of Malta. The MOU targets strategic collaboration in the oil and gas sector as part of the government’s vision to transform energy and petroleum sectors into key value added economic activities. To this end, both sides identified a number of key areas. The European Union is also looking southwards to develop a “southern gas corridor” for natural gas from Azerbaijan to fuel the European mainland. A key policy that also ties in with the Maltese government’s prospective energy shift to gas…

Former Libyan prime minister Ali Zeidan has fled to Europe after parliament voted him out of office on Tuesday over his failure to stop rebels exporting oil independently in a brazen challenge to the nation's fragile unity. Zeidan was in Malta for two hours late on Tuesday on a short stop before going to "another European country", Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told state-owned television TVM. Government sources in Malta said he had left via a private plane bound for Germany, but the German authorities could not confirm he had arrived.

Former Libyan prime minister Ali Zeidan has fled to Europe after parliament voted him out of office on Tuesday over his failure to stop rebels exporting oil independently in a brazen challenge to the nation's fragile unity. Zeidan was in Malta for two hours late on Tuesday on a refuelling stop before going to "another European country", Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told state-owned television TVM. But no European government had confirmed his arrival by late morning on Wednesday. The standoff over control of oil exports threatens to deepen dangerous regional and tribal faultlines in Libya where rival militias with powerbases in the east and west back competing political factions in the transitional government.

More than 250 top-level delegates attended trade association Interferry’s 38th annual conference in Malta to debate the major factors affecting ferry operations around the world. Under a new format mixing presentations with panel discussions and audience input, the event underlined the diversity of political, technical, operational and commercial issues challenging the industry. Among several sessions focused on safety, a former airline pilot confirmed the alarming certainty of human error…

A ferry operator’s experience of ‘the fastest ship in the world’ will feature among the cutting-edge initiatives being aired at Interferry’s 38th annual conference in Malta from October 5-9. The trade association event gives South American operator Buquebus a first opportunity to showcase the commercial and technical benefits of its revolutionary newbuild Francisco. Delivered in August from Australian builder Incat Tasmania, the catamaran is the world’s first high speed dual fuel ro-ro to use LNG as its primary fuel. Incat made the “fastest ship” claim after sea trials in June.