Maritime Squadron personnel of the Armed Forces of Malta successfully completed a ships' documentation course held between the 5th and the 16th of November, which was conducted by an Italian Coast Guard Headquarters mobile training team of instructor personnel, as part of the various ongoing training programmes for the AFM conducted by the Italian Military Mission (IMM) in Malta.

The course was held at the Squadron's base in Haywharf, Floriana and it covered safety and maritime security matters, apart from the general documentation and certificates required by all maritime shipping traffic.

Amongst the course instructors, locally-based navy and coast guard IMM personnel, Commanders Giovanni Greco and Attilio Montalto, had developed the class tuition to include a hands-on session on board a visiting Italian ro-ro passenger ship, MV "Splendid", which was berthed in Grand Harbour, Valetta.

During a course graduation ceremony, the IMM's commanding officer, Col. Giovanni Ormetti, stressed on the long existing cooperation between Malta and Italy which remains at the centre of improving sea traffic control and management in one's own territorial waters.

With the long continuous cooperation between the IMM and the AFM amongst other local authorities as hindsight, proposals are at hand in the development of more new training courses for the AFM's Maritime Squadron which would include international marine police activities as well as natural resource protection, and sea pollution prevention.

Hundreds of ships daily cross the Mediterranean sea lanes that straddle between Italy and Malta, and these require a high level of awareness, readiness and skills to prevent and manage any emergency situation.