Pictured above: Fifteen candidates from Israel recently completed SafeMed II Project sponsored VTS simulator training in Malta

The first group of SafeMed’s Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) Operator candidates have completed their training and been duly certified as VTS Operators up to the standards set by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) and issued the IALA V-103/1 certificate.

Recently, 15 candidates from Israel completed their VTS simulator training in Malta at the VTS training facilities of Future Focus Ltd, the training provider accredited by the Maltese Authorities.  The theoretical courses were held earlier in Israel. Nine more candidates from Albania, Jordan and Montenegro are expected to complete their VTS Operator training in October.

In the meantime, Ecole Nationale Supérieure Maritime (ENSM) of Marseille is providing VTS Operator training to a number of Moroccan and Tunisian candidates. Theoretical courses in both Casablanca and Tunis are ongoing and 6 simulator training courses are scheduled to take place in the coming months at ENSM’s premises in Marseille.

The SafeMed II Project will be also providing further VTS training for VTS Supervisors (V-103/2) and VTS On-the-Job Trainers (V-103/4).

This training enables VTS officers who work at, or intend to work at, existing VTS installations to improve their qualifications to reach a level of qualification meeting IALA standards. Candidate VTS Operators from six SafeMed II Project Beneficiaries, namely Albania, Israel, Jordan, Montenegro, Morocco and Tunisia, are benefitting from this training.