The Armed Forces of Malta has categorically denied allegations made by migration observatory Fortress Europe. The organisation recently reported that a vessel laden with 264 migrants had been turned back to Libya by an AFM patrol boat in the summer of 2005, in violation of international laws of the sea.
Reacting to a report carried in this newspaper, the AFM rebutted the claim as complete fiction and stressed the AFM has never during the conduct of its operations in the Mediterranean acted in such a manner.
The Fortress Europe study had focused on the conditions of migrants in transit in Libya titled “Escape from Tripoli”.
In what was alleged to have been a case of illegal refoulement at sea, the report had quoted a migrant stating a military ship flying the Maltese flag rescued a ship carrying 264 migrants in distress in July 2005 – only to tow the stricken vessel toward Libyan waters, where it was handed over to the Libyan authorities.
According to the AFM, the story is complete fiction.
Replying to the report, the AFM stated, “Firstly, the alleged incident of July 2005 quoted in the Fortress Europe report, in which a Maltese military ship is stated to have towed a disabled vessel with 264 persons aboard back towards the Libyan coast before handing the same vessel over to the Libyan authorities, is fiction.
“No incident occurred as described, and at no time in that month did any Armed Forces of Malta vessel encounter a migrant craft of that size, much less take it under tow.
“In addition to this, the AFM categorically denies that any Maltese warship has ever acted in this manner during the conduct of its operations in the Mediterranean.”
The Fortress Europe report had also cited reports, without attributing the comments, that the Italian authorities complain about the lack of means and scarce cooperation by Libyan and Maltese authorities – another point vehemently dismissed by the AFM.
The AFM added, “Secondly, while the Fortress Europe report states that Italian authorities are unhappy with both the scope of Maltese resources and the level of cooperation in regard to Search and Rescue, facts clearly state the opposite with regard to the working relationship between the Italian and Maltese competent SAR authorities: the Italian Coast Guard and the AFM enjoy an excellent rapport, with regular fax and telephone contacts between us, besides the conduct of training exercises with the participation of both SAR agencies.”
The AFM also corrected Fortress Europe’s “misunderstanding” of how a Search and Rescue Region (SRR) should be matched by resources capable of covering the complete area.
It explained, “Both the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (Article 98) as well as the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue 1979 (Annex, Chapter 2, paragraph 2.1.9) clearly indicate that the role of the coastal State is to coordinate SAR (Search and Rescue) within the SRR for which it has assumed responsibility.
“The operational resources used to conduct operations may come from a variety of sources including national assets, commercial vessels and warships which may be in the area or specialist resources requested from another SAR authority. As a matter of fact, the AFM is in the process of formalising such arrangements with a number of neighbouring States in the form of SAR Agreements.
“Not only does the Malta Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Malta) fulfil assigned tasks in a manner fully compliant with international obligations, but it goes a step further by maintaining a watching brief over all SAR incidents which may occur worldwide and involve vessels flying the Maltese flag.
“These tasks generate a workload in excess of 400 individual cases every year.”