The government has commissioned another tourist boat while migration NGO Alarm Phone has reported that there is a vessel at sea within Malta’s Search and Rescue (SAR) zone.
The Times of Malta reports that the three Captain Morgan ships which are already at sea with 350 migrants on board have reached full capacity so another tourist boat has been chartered to give shelter to other incoming migrants.
A spokesperson for the company Supreme Cruises which is commissioning the fourth ship, the Jade, said that it can accommodate up to 250 individuals.
On Wednesday morning, NGO Alarm Phone had reported a migrant vessel sighting, of approximately 80 migrants on board, to the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) but it said that it received no feedback from them. They emphasised that “rescue is needed” as they had lost contact with the boat two hours after they reported it.
Later that evening, the AFM had said that the boat was intercepted and 75 migrants were taken into the Captain Morgan ships, increasing the total of migrants being held at sea to 425 migrants. This exceeded the capacity of the ships so the Jade was sent out to take in these new 75 migrants.
On Thursday morning, Alarm Phone was alerted by another migrant boat, consisting of approximately 48 people in distress within Malta’s SAR zone.
No further information has been revealed about the status of this boat since then.