The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) on Wednesday afternoon came across a unique situation at sea that involved migrants who had reportedly boarded a Tunisian fishing vessel on the high seas.

The matter broke out on Wednesday at 1.15pm, when the AFM Operations Centre at Luqa Barracks was informed that the Tunisian fishing vessel “Hadj Mahmoud” had allegedly been taken over by illegal migrants in a position some 90 nautical miles south-west of Malta, and when only 43 nautical miles from the Italian island of Lampedusa, and was moving in a northerly direction at seven knots.

Earlier in the day, international news wire service reports stated that some migrants had been taken off a rubber dinghy by an Italian navy vessel. Ten of the remaining migrants were initially assisted by the “Hadj Mahmoud”. Some press reports claimed that two Italian launches of the Guardia di Finanza were also headed to the fishing vessel’s area.

In the meantime, the Tunisian navy’s warship “Bizerte” had steamed to assist the fishing vessel. Late at night, at 11.35, the “Bizerte” informed Malta Radio at the AFM Operations Centre that the “Hadj Mahmoud” was in a position some 17 nautical miles west of Dingli by this time. The AFM maritime squadron’s patrol craft P-24 and the fast rescue launch “Melita 1” were immediately dispatched on site.

At 33 minutes past midnight, P-24 linked up with the Tunisian fishing vessel, and escorted it to a position in closer vicinity of the warship “Bizerte”, which had remained outside Maltese territorial waters. A total of 22 migrants were on board (made up of nine men, 11 women, and two children), and in what turned out to be a delicate operation, these were transferred from the “Hadj Mahmoud” to the Tunisian warship. The fishing vessel was subsequently handed back to its crew.