A National Pilot Training Course took place in Malta in October as part of the Preparedness for Oil-polluted Shoreline cleanup and Oiled Wildlife interventions (POSOW) project. POSOW is coordinated by the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) and co-funded by the European Commission.
Over three days the 25 trainees learned about Volunteer Management during an oil spill response, Oiled Shoreline Assessment, Oiled Wildlife Response and Oiled Shoreline Clean-up. In developing this project, which aims to improve emergency response to shoreline pollution incidents in the Mediterranean, REMPEC partnered with the Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution (CEDRE), the Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Sea Alarm Foundation, and the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR).
Transport Malta, the Civil Protection Department (CPD) and Nature Trust (Malta), assisted by REMPEC, led the courses at the Xrobb L-Ghagin Centre in Marsaxlokk. A practical session was held at Birzebbugia San Gorg Bay on the final day. Two officials from Malta, one from the CPD and one from Nature Trust (Malta), attended initial ‘Train the Trainer’ courses on oil spill response held in France in May, preparing them to bring the training back to local volunteers likely to be involved should an oil spill occur.
In addition to the sessions in Malta, courses are planned for seven more REMPEC countries (Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia and Spain) with the goal of having approximately 240 volunteers trained in initial oil spill response and enhancing cross-boundary cooperation throughout the Mediterranean in the event of a larger oil spill.