Malta has a centuries old Maritime tradition. The strategic location of the Maltese Islands at heart of the Mediterranean Sea, its natural harbours, and the entrepreneurial and maritime skills of its people have, since time immemorial, conspired with its history and millennial culture to transform this European sovereign state into an international maritime service centre.
From its position astride one of the major arteries of shipping, Malta offers a whole range of international maritime services and facilities: deep natural harbours and well equipped ports which offer a haven for international shipping, extensive bunkering, ship supplies and towage services, ship building and ship repair yards which can take the largest ships afloat, modern facilities for transhipment and distribution, including a very successful Freeport and oil terminal, high level training for both deck and engineering officers at a very well respected nautical school, a hub for cruise liners, international yacht marinas backed by efficient repair and shore support services and of course, an international ship register which is now long established as one of the largest in the world.
Malta also hosts the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea, The IMO International Maritime Law Institute, and the International Ocean Institute.
Malta is committed to further expansion as an international service centre. This is manifested by the continuous development of what already is a sophisticated legal and financial regime, by the huge investment in infrustructural services, and by the sheer determination to succeed both on the part of the authorities and also of the substantial number of highly trained professionals who provide excellent back-up services.
It is from within this framework of an international maritime and service centre that Malta offers the international shipping community a thriving and reputable open ship register, one of the eight largest registers in the world.
The Malta Flag is today a flag of confidence, a flag of choice, its good standing evidenced both by the number of ship owning and ship management companies of repute which register their ships in Malta, and also by the confidence shown by the leading international banks and financiers who at times recommend the Maltese register.
The Malta maritime flag is the flag of a well-established, yet dynamic, maritime centre. The Malta international ship register completes the wide range of services, which is Maritime Malta and at the same time draws its strength from being an integral part of a truly international maritime and service centre.