EMSA, the European Maritime Safety Agency of the European Commission, has awarded a service contract for Standby Oil Spill Recovery and Incident Response for the Eastern Mediterranean to Tankship Management Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Virtu Holdings Limited. The contract is for a period of three years renewable for a further period of three years.
Tankship Management, ISM Certified by Lloyd’s Register, is the lead company in a consortium with Virtu Ferries Limited and the Island Bunker Oils Group.
The risk of large scale oil spills in European waters has risen considerably due to the increase in the transportation of bulk oil. As it is impossible to predict the location of future incidents with any certainty, EMSA has designated four High Priority Action Areas namely: Baltic Sea, western approaches to the English Channel, Atlantic coast and Mediterranean (East); an EMSA Standby Oil Spill Recovery and Incident Response Centre is being set up in each of these areas.
The award of the contract to Tankship Management follows the adjudication, by EMSA, of tenders submitted by shipping companies operating in Europe following an international Call for Expression of Interest issued in January 2005 and a subsequent Invitation to Tender. The contract is for Mediterranean (East), and covers the area of Greece, Sicily, Southern Italy, Cyprus, Malta, the Adriatic Sea, the Ionian Sea, and the Aegean Sea.
EMSA contracted ships and operators will respond primarily to incidents of oil spills in international and national waters in the area allocated to them. However, when logistically and technically possible they will also assist in other high priority areas. Following a request for assistance by an EU member State, an EFTA country (European Free Trade Area), or the European Commission, these vessels will be promptly mobilised to the disaster area, to combat the oil spill, recovering oil from the sea and the stricken vessels.
MT Mistra Bay, owned by Island Bunker Oils Group, will be undergoing a two million Euro refit at Cassar Ship Repair Yard for the installation of state-of-the-art oil spill recovery equipment including rigid sweeping arms, self-propelled skimmers, 500 metres of open sea oil containment booms and high capacity oil/water separators that meet stringent Class and IMO Certification. The groups’ other vessels, MT Anchor Bay BAY, MT Golden Bay and the MV Ramla Bay are also equipped for ship to ship transfer of petroleum product.
This is a prestigious contract awarded in the face of stiff international competition; it is confirmation, by the European Commission, of the highest standards in marine management and is a tribute not only to the companies involved but also, on a personal level, to the qualifications and abilities of the staff of the company’s marine and technical department. The contract provides for periodic training of the company’s ship’s officers and crew in combating oil pollution at sea, and at-sea exercises within the allocated areas.
The award of this contract to a Maltese shipping group is also confirmation of the high standing of the Malta Flag under which all the company’s vessels are registered. Malta has effectively been designated the oil spill recovery and incident response centre for the Eastern Mediterranean. Having an anti-pollution combating vessel stationed in Maltese waters is a great advantage to the island in the event of an oil spill emergency.