On 3 April 2003 Malta Maritime Pilots was officially constituted as a co-operative and 6 days later, on the 9th of

April, the service agreement between the government of Malta and the Coop was signed. The foundation of this

agreement lay in the willingness of both parties to update and modernise the pilotage service and also in view of the

fact that Malta was to become a member of the European Union, with accession occurring on 1 May

2004. Underpinning the agreement was a completely new legal framework in the form of updated Maritime

Pilotage Regulations which were published earlier that year, on 1st March 2003.

Through this agreement a new page was opened in the history of pilotage in Malta, whereby the pilots' co-operative

was granted exclusivity and recognised as an essential service. In return, operation of the pilotage service was

transparent, including financial provisions; a Code of Conduct for pilots was agreed and industrial action was

severely limited - any disputes were to be settled through arbitration.

Over the past twenty years several milestones were reached:

-2007 A revised agreement sees the Coop take over operation of the pilot boats;

-2009 Echo 1, the first pilot boat built for MMP was inaugurated;

-2010 The Coop sets up Mediterranean Maritime Research and Training Centre Co-Op with its own simulator;

-2018 Juliet 1, the eight pilot boat, added to the fleet;

-2019 A new maritime training centre was inaugurated.

This is reason enough to celebrate and on 26 May a reception was held at the port of Valletta where retired and

active pilots shared a glass or two with the maritime community.