Over 80 migrants are missing and presumed dead, while only three have survived, after a boat capsized and sank off the coast of Tunisia, in waters near the town of Zarzis. The three Malians who were rescued said that they had set out from Zuwara in Libya.
Libya seized a sanctioned Iranian ship off the coast of Misrata, as there were claims that it was carrying weapons. The container Shahr E Kord had left Bulgaria, with Misrata in western Libya being its destination. According to the interior ministry, the container ship was loaded with 144 containers. As a result, the attorney general ordered the seizure and an investigation of the ship.
In light of the conditions that exist in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, there are no further changes to the operation of Libyan ports. Yet, Gard advises vessels to be in touch with their local agent to obtain the most up-to-date and reliable information.
The tanker El Hiblu 1 rescued about 100 migrants on February 27, when three amongst them began to riot and threaten violence when they realized that they were being returned to Libya. The thee teenage migrants have been charged in a court in Malta after hijacking the commercial oil tanker that had rescued them.
At least 10 migrants lost their lives on March 19, when their boat sank off the Libyan coast near the western town of Sabratha. 17 others were rescued, a Sabratha’s security operations spokesman, said, and were transferred to the hospital. The United Nations migration agency IOM informed that 15 survivors were brought to a hospital, but it did not know how many people had been on board the boat.
Human Rights at Sea issued its independent review and commentary into the ‘Human Rights and International Rule of Law Ramifications of the De-Flagging of M/V Aquarius Dignitus’. This is a vessel chartered by SOS Méditerranée and previously operated along with the Amsterdam-based branch of Médecins Sans Frontières, rescuing men, women and children in the Central Mediterranean Sea.
According to Gibson Shipbrokers, Libya is planning to build a new port suitable for VLCCs to berth. The port will aspire to leverage its strategic location for vessels travelling between Asia and Europe through the Suez Canal and to and from the US. VLCCs have not fully loaded in port for more than 5 years because of a build-up in silt at the Es Sider terminal.
Libya’s East and West authorities have formally united for the construction of North Africa’s automated and largest deep-sea ports near the city of Susah in Libya. Specifically, the Port of Susah, a major international trans-shipment hub container port, will be a crossroad in North Africa for mainline cargo vessels traveling to and from Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal, as well as to and from the United States.
The Shipowners Club urged operators to exercise caution when trading to Libya, due to an increased risk of vessel seizure and crew arrests as a result from an increase in the last years of illicit crude oil trade. To eradicate oil smuggling, the Libyan government has implemented strict measures.
Libyan security authorities forcibly removed 79 refugees and migrants Tuesday from the Panama-flagged cargo ship ‘Nivin’ in the Libyan port of Misrata, after they refused to leave the ship for 10 days. The incident has risen reactions from humanitarian bodies, as there are reports of injuries and use of rubber bullets and tear gas.
