Rough seas restrict military exercise to Grand Harbour

The annual aero-maritime exercise involving Maltese and Italian military units ended yesterday with a series of simulated operations inside Grand Harbour.

The conclusion of Canale 2004, as the exercise was code-named, was originally planned to take place about four miles off the northeast coast of Malta but the rough seas forced the military authorities to adopt a contingency plan and hold the exercises in a sheltered area. It was felt that this would allow smoother operations... and enable those on board to better digest the delicious lunch served on board the Italian vessel Espero!

The activity started with a law enforcement exercise. AFM soldiers on a dinghy approached a "suspected" vessel and boarded it to inspect it while in motion.

The more spectacular exercises followed when a rescuer was winched down from an AB212 helicopter onto an AFM patrol boat that was "on fire". A casualty was successfully hoisted onto the helicopter in minutes. Fire fighters from a French dinghy then boarded the vessel to help extinguish the "flames".

An HH3F helicopter of the Italian Air Force then rescued a "casualty" who fell overboard. A diver jumped into the sea from the helicopter to assist the man and both were winched back up.

Most of the AFM's vessels - patrol boats P51 and P23, as well as SAR vessels Melita I and Melita II - were deployed in the operations. One of the AFM's islander aircraft, an Alouette helicopter and an AB212 of the Italian Military Mission were used during the different Canale 2004 exercises. Along with the Italian naval vessels Espero and Vega, a rescue vessel of the Italian Coast Guard and a vessel belonging the Carabinieri also took part.

It was Malta's turn to plan and conduct the exercise this year, this being the 11th session since Canale was started in 1994. Major Martin Cauchi Inglott from the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta was the officer in tactical command of the operations and Commander Carmelo Bonfiglio, from the Italian navy, was the co-officer.

The activity yesterday was the peak of a series of exercises that started on Monday. They entailed coordinated tactical manoeuvres by vessels covering an area of 10,000 nautical square miles around Malta.

On Tuesday, the forces took part in a search and rescue operation where they looked for, identified and successfully rescued two dummies.

The exercise included a night operation between Tuesday and Wednesday. This involved a defence exercise in which two vessels approaching Malta from the north and the northeast had to be stopped.

Thursday was dedicated to regrouping and planning, an exercise that took place in the harbour.

France and Greece also took part in the exercise with a naval unit each while Algeria, Jordan and Morocco each sent an observer.

AFM commander Brigadier Carmel Vassallo said the exercise was essential for coordination purposes. He said this was one of the most important training exercises of the AFM.

"Exercises are very important for us. The aim of the exercise was to promote cooperation and peace in the Mediterranean region by conducting naval and air operations involving units of the Maltese and Italian armed forces. Apart from training in combined maritime search and rescue and law enforcement, the exercise is important for the control of illegal trafficking of migrants at sea," he said.

Brigadier Vassallo said the close collaboration between the AFM and the Italian military had a history that went way beyond Malta's accession to the EU. "With the presence of the Italian Military Mission in Malta as well as the equipment they have given us for free or at a cheap price the Italians have always supported us in many respects."

Admiral Giampaolo di Paola, Italy's Chief of Defence Staff, defined Malta as the "sentinel of Europe", adding that the Maltese military had an important role in the coordination of search and rescue operation and a responsibility to monitor the central Mediterranean, which was now the southernmost border of the European Union.