I would like to seize this moment to reaffirm my deepest and greatest appreciation and gratitude to the Nippon Foundation for granting me a scholarship and thus providing me with the opportunity to pursue an LL.M. degree in International Maritime Law at the IMO IMLI. The experience at IMLI cannot be easily expressed in writing. “Unique” is arguably the best word that can be used to describe the life and study at IMLI. Personally, in addition to the vast knowledge conveyed to us by lecturers and practitioners, I think I gained the confidence to believe in my abilities to perform under pressure, stay on point and be as precise as possible. Furthermore, the opportunity to meet a huge variety of people from around the globe, connect, and most importantly make new friendships was indispensable to me. Last, but not least, the LL.M. degree in International Maritime Law would not have been possible to achieve without the continuous support all IMLI students received by Prof. David Attard and the rest of the IMLI academic and administrative staff.