Captain of Libya-held Maltese vessel returns to Italy

The Italian captain of a Maltese vessel held in Libya for the last twelve days has returned to his homeland, while the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has told The Malta Independent that they are, “at the moment, closely monitoring the situation,” in reply to questions sent to ascertain what action it intended to take.

The Maltese-flagged fishing vessel Salvatur VI, owned by Salvatur VI Fishing Company Limited, was stopped by the Libyan military forces of Benghazi on 28 September after it wandered into disputed international waters with intent to fish 40 miles off the coast of Libya

Speaking to The Malta Independent, vessel owner Albert Satariano explained that the Libyan military government is merely waiting for the Maltese government to confirm the identity of the vessel and the crew before their release, as the Italian government has done for the captain.

In fact, neither the vessel nor the captain has been charged with any offence, and have avoided any sort of fine.

Satariano has called on the government to intervene and save his livelihood.

The ongoing Libyan civil war has seen the country split into two controlling factions, the UN and Maltese-recognised National Transitional Council of Libya based in Tripoli, and the militarybacked government in Tobruk, which rules over Benghazi. The six Indonesian crew members remain on board the vessel forcibly docked in Benghazi.