Immigrants Use Towed Tuna Pens Walkways As Rescueff

Two boatloads carrying a total of 46 migrants landed in Malta last week as Malta continued to suffer the brunt of the Africa-Europe migration phenomenon.

The first boatload of 20 migrants – 16 men, four women and one corpse found at sea – was brought ashore at 9am by the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) after a long standoff between the AFM, the Libyan authorities and a Maltese-contracted Icelandic trawler, which had refused AFM orders to disembark the migrants it had rescued in Libya.

The group had been rescued early Thursday morning by an Icelandic deep sea trawler, contracted by a Maltese company, some 70 miles from the Libyan coast and well within Libya’s neglected search and rescue area. The group had been spotted standing on the walkway of one of the three empty tuna-pens the vessel had in tow some 300 meters behind.

Following yet another escapade of mixed messages and confusing determination of responsibility between Malta and Libya, the migrants were eventually picked up late Friday night by the AFM and were brought to the AFM’s Haywharf base.

An AFM spokesperson confirmed that Malta had intervened in the situation for humanitarian reasons, mainly on the basis of the length of time they had been at sea since their rescue, although the rescue had been undertaken well into Libyan waters.

Some seven to 10 migrants who were in this boat are thought to still be missing at sea.

The second boatload, carrying 26 men, was spotted in the early afternoon making its way, of its own accord, into Gnejna Bay, which was inevitably crowded with bathers. The migrants were brought ashore safely by the AFM and police.