Asteria Advisory was set up in December 2024 to bring a customised, niche service to a varied client base.
It was founded by Dr Geraldine Spiteri, after having spent several years gaining experience in the marine and aviation businesses, lecturing on the subject and being immersed in the operation of business jets and aircraft. Geraldine is a Maltese warranted lawyer who also has experience in commercial and business fields and general legal practice.
Why Malta?
Malta is a jurisdiction that is a hybrid between the continental legal system (such as is found in Italy, France, Germany and Spain) and the common law system (such as that found in the UK). This is due to its rich history – rich commercial and maritime legal developments under the British rule in the 19th Century and the civil and commercial pillars of our legal system in prior years under the French, the Knights of Malta, and other European powers.
Malta is a stable jurisdiction with a robust legal system, compounded with a good reputation in many commercial areas. It is an EU Member State, so that setting up business in Malta gives access to European markets and thus provides freedom of movement of goods and capital.
Respected Maritime Flag
Malta’s reputation as a flag of choice for superyachts and ships is unquestionable. Malta ranks top superyacht flag in Europe and one of the largest shipping registries in the world. Being compliant with the major international shipping conventions, Malta provides shipowners and yacht owners with the required assurance of favourable treatment in foreign ports.
Other flagging options are available for ship and yacht owners wishing to operate under a non-EU flag or from a jurisdiction where a different registration may prove more pragmatic.
Ever-Growing Aviation Jurisdiction
Since 2010, Malta’s commitment to the aviation sector has been that our aircraft registry has grown exponentially. There are tax, VAT and commercial advantages to Malta being chosen as aircraft registry – not least for its being an EU Member State.
Other favourable jurisdictions may also be an option for aircraft in transit, aircraft wishing to operate outside the EU or aircraft that are intended to be operated privately.
A few years ago, I gave a speech in an IMO International Maritime Institute (IMLI) discussion on women in the maritime industry. The IMLI Board of Studies had given me a scholarship to read my masters in 2006 (completion in 2007) so this seemed a good opportunity to give something back.
Today, I once again attended a similar-themed breakfast, She Leads the Seas. This conference focussed on the opportunities for women in this industry which is so traditionally heavily led by men. The event was hosted by MaritimeMT, in Malta, and was part of the MARMED project.
The MARMED project is a part of ERASMUS+. It is aimed at briding the gap between the existing needs and the current skillset of Maritime Clusters Managers. The object is to look at upskilling of members of the industry. It was also aimed at outlining an innovative professional profile for an increased competitiveness of Maritime Clusters in the Mediterranean area and, overall, boosting innovation and sustainable growth in the Blue Economy sector.
This in-person seminar covered an outline of the project, a discussion on the role of women in the maritime industry and a good overview of the opportunities available. It is widely still the case that women are still under-represented in the maritime industry and there are many actions that the industry can take to change this balance. The audience included the IMLI students, various professionals and lecturers from the industry and officials from the Flag, Transport Malta.
The meeting also touched upon Women in Transport – EU Platform for change. With only 22% of women, the transport sector is not gender balanced. The objective of this Platform, therefore, launched on 27 November 2017, is to strengthen women’s employment and equal opportunities for women and men in the transport sector through the actions brought about by the Platform members. It will also serve as a forum to discuss and exchange good practices.
The Occupational Health & Safety Authority (OHSA) has recently issued a leaflet to outline the basic tenets of the new law. In case you missed it or are not in Malta, here are the key points.
Every worker counts and every worker can contribute to the safety and security of the workplace. The main objectives of the new law are the following:
Protecting mental and physical health of workers across all sectors
Implementing stronger measures and mechanisms
Fostering a prevention culture among workers and employers alike
Key responsibilities:
Responsibilities of the OHSA
Allocating more resources to operate effectively
Enhancing skills and competences of its own workforce
Introducing new legal measures for rapid intervention in high-risk situations
Modernising operational procedures for more effective oversight
Health & Safety Responsible Officer – when neccessary to receive reports and investigate, ensuring access for workers to continuous support at the workplace
Conducting life consultations nationwide to ensure sectoral improvements.
Employer Liability
Risk and hazard identification
Assesment of impact of risks on workers’ health
Implementing necessary mesures to elimitate or control risks to workers’ health
Provide appropriate training and information to workers, based on their role
Ensuring competent supervision
Employees’ Responsibilities
Cooperate with employer & team
Proper use of equipment supplied
Reporting of hazards
Engaging in continuous training
Adopting correct behaviour that does not endanger the team and themselves.
The OHSA offers a helpline – 158 – for more information or any difficulties.
If you are an employer seeking to draft your policies and procedures from this perspective and require assistance, contact us for a consultation. We can provide assistance with preparing your handbooks, policies and procedures, or provide a review based on the size of your operation and workforce.
Everyone who knows me, is familiar with my love of travel. This extends to the large number of business trips that I embark on as part of my career.
Most of my trips surround the work in relation to superyachts and aircraft, although sometimes I need to travel for more generic conferences and meetings. The yacht and aircraft shows provide a joy of being present, even if the networking is gruelling and entails long days.
Events, fairs, conferencies, parties – this can spell waking up early, looking your best throughout the business day and then extending to parties or dinners that carry on well into the night. It sounds tiring and it is. However, it is across those dinner tables and at that bar, that many business deals are closed. Collaborations commence over a slight conversation, or becoming comfortable in each other’s company at a party.
Over the years, I have made many friends from the yacht and aircraft sectors. These professionals are industry counterparts and sometimes competitors. Very often, we don’t get to discuss business – because we are competing. Then, one day you get a call, an enquiry and suddenly you are in business together. It will start with one small task and eventually expand to bigger things.
In all, I will have had nine business trips by the end of 2024 and look forward to more. To me, it’s an opportunity to get off my desk and bring in some business. Another way of looking at it is the brand awareness: putting my company’s name out there. There is tough competition out there: sitting at one’s desk will not bring in new customers and the influx of new business is a healthy flow that needs to be continuous.
Here’s to more and more – networking, networking, networking.
I have often thought about what friends I have. I have not, for a very long time, thrown all friends into one basket. I also think that people can only handle things that are within their sphere – so for example, it is useless discussing the opera with someone like me, because I don’t get it.
I have friends for different things, but usually it revolves around sharing. I don’t do one-way relationships – that is not friendship, that is dependency. Neither do I do symbiosis (where we each completely feed off each other) – a real friend will share with you but let you swim alone; and as a real friend, you will share with them but then swim unaided – and that works both ways.
Sharing – perhaps we connect because we are going through something similar and we can share our ideas and learn from each other; perhaps we can share because we both love a good love, or a goof around an arts exhibition.
There are a few dear people – very dear – who I do not consider as ‘friends’, in the sense that when I meet them, I leave the get-together drained. These are the people who always have a bone of contention, always find something to complain about and go on and on about the same thing. That’s not the classical ‘friendship’ but I know they do care a lot for me and stood around me when I needed them. I love them anyway, probably more dearly than some, but I cannot be hanging around them all the time.
Friendship is not about hanging around someone all the time – you can be a friend without seeing someone weekly or even monthly. There’s a lot of love and respect, and not a lot of dependency in my friendship book (even as I am a bit of a butterfly). There are friends who I’ve not seen in a couple of years – and I know we would like to see more of each other. The bond is strong, but sometimes we need to make choices as to how to spread out our time. A good, strong friendship, for me, loves to meet – but doesn’t need to.
There are acquaintances – people I meet at an art or music class, people I greet daily or work with. We probably share much but they become a familiar face on my life-landscape. Are they friends? No, not in the huddly sense but I know that probably if they asked for my help, I’d give it.
Work colleagues – friends? Well, not in the ‘bonding deeply’ sense – I don’t have a word for that. But, ‘acquaintances’ is too cold a term. There are some with whom you can share a lot, even if you don’t ever meet up outside the office.
There are those people who want a friend to be a form of life-partner, someone whom they can depend on to meet every weekend and do everything together. For me that’s a bit of co-dependency – fill the void with a friend; even more so if you don’t have a partner. That’s a bit over-the-top for me.
I don’t have a single bestie. My ‘bestie’ is my partner and even then, there are areas where our lives don’t overlap. I have many female besties, and a few male besties. Most of them have been around for a long time – perhaps, because we don’t cling, the friendships last long. We do our own thing and then come back to share – the love, the adventures, the silliness and even the griefs, hell – why not! It’s all part of who we are. We don’t hang on to each other for dear life, even if we lean from time to time – that’s ok. Every ‘bestie’ has a different meaning in my life (as, I suppose, me to them).
Then there are friends-in-the-making. My heart is always open to making new friends – as in, transitioning from acquaintances to friendship as, with the passage of time, I feel that certain people do earn that forward step in each other’s lives.
I also believe that friends come and go (physically) as and when the energies align. So things would happen so that two friends (or more) start to meet up regularly when there is a common energy – when they diverge, they are still ‘friends’ – just meet less. I don’t think that true friendship (a form of love) goes away when they diverge – they just need to be doing something different.
Is there a type of friend I don’t have? Not really. Anything that doesn’t fall within my idea of friendship (clinging, dependent, flaky with time, keeps bunging up meeting dates or times) is not a ‘friend’. I’ve always attracted a variety of people to my life – because of my openness to receive others (and to give).
Do I choose? No, I don’t choose alone – they choose me too.
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