According to ITF, the so called ‘the deadliest shipwreck in the Mediterranean so far this year’ took place in late July, where up to 150 migrants and refugees are feared drowned in attempts of crossing the Mediterranean Sea into Europe after their boat capsized off Libya.
Libyan National Oil Corporation declared a state of force majeure on crude oil loadings at Zawiya port beginning on July 20. This is because of an unlawful Sharara pipeline valve closure by an unidentified group between Hamada and the Zawiya port, suspending production. However, today (July 22), NOC announced that it lifted the force majeure.
Concerning Libyan ports, Standard P&I Club has already highlighted to ship operators that the situation remains extremely unstable. In the meantime, Al Jazeera referred to a new potential threat against Turkish flagged ships that call Libyan Ports.
In light of the recent developments and representations made by various Libyan authorities, the Standard P&I Club issued a warning for ship operators reminding that the situation in Libya remains extremely unstable. All ports remain open with the exception of Sirte and Derna.
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.
