‘This boat is my life’ – Owner of vessel held in Libya calls on government to intervene

The owner of a vessel that has been held in Libya for over a week is calling on the government to intervene and save his livelihood.

The vessel has been detained in Benghazi for nine days. Speaking to The Malta Independent, Albert Satariano, who purchased the vessel eight years ago after retiring, said that he had worked tirelessly at his own physical and personal expense to turn the vessel into a high-quality longline fishing ship. “The boat is my life... I don’t know how to continue living without it.”

The Maltese-flagged fishing vessel Salvatur VI, MFA0172VLT, owned by Salvatur VI Fishing Company Limited, with an Italian captain and six Indonesian crew members on board, is being held by the military forces of Benghazi.

The vessel, which was on its way to Crete, was stopped on 28 September after it had wandered into disputed international waters with the intent of fishing 40 miles off the Libyan coast.

A 2011 European Commission document says that Libya’s territorial waters stretch out 12 nautical miles, with an Exclusive Fishing Zone of 62 nautical miles.

The ongoing civil war in the North African country has seen it split between two controlling factions – the UN-recognised National Transitional Council of Libya, based in Tripoli, and the military-backed government in Tobruk, which rules over Benghazi.

Satariano explained that neither the vessel nor the captain had been charged with any offence, nor had they incurred any sort of fine. He said the Tobruk government was merely waiting for the Maltese government to confirm the identity of the vessel and the crew before their release.

“My lawyer in Libya last night informed me that the Libyan army is waiting to be contacted by the Maltese and Indonesian authorities, to be able to release the crew and vessel.”

“The Italian captain was released immediately after the Libyan army was contacted by the Italian consulate in Benghazi. It appears that the captain has so far refused to leave the vessel until this matter is resolved, but it seems that he is now being forced to leave the country,” he told this newspaper.

“I have been in contact with the foreign affairs ministry and the Indonesian embassy in Rome and have informed them fully of the situation. However, I am concerned that the Maltese authorities are not taking urgent action, contrary to what the Italian government has already done.”