Casualties – Ferry COSSYRA on fire after leaving Lampedusa – 29.09.2023

On Friday 29th September, 2023 around 2340 hrs a fire broke out in the engine room on the 1980 built ITA flag and owned ferry COSSYRA, off Linosa Island whilst sailing from Lampedusa to Porto Empedocle, with 177 souls on board, including 150 passengers (83 of them were migrants) and 27 crew members. After the […]
Hijacking – Italian special forces free hijacked ship off Naples, Italy – 09.06.2023

On Friday 9th June the Italian Naval Special Forces San Marco were alerted after receiving an SOS call of the Turkish flag (TUR) ro/ro ship GALATA SEAWAYS hijacked of which they flew on 2 Helicopters from their Brindisi HQ towards the Tyrennian Sea. The ship departed Yalova, Turkey last Wednesday bound for Sete, France where […]
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION – Guardia Costiera rescues 450 immigrants – 23.03.2023

Today Thursday 23rd March, 2023 the Italian Coast Guard (Guardia Costiera) rescued 450 illegal immigrants aboard a fishing vessel flying a Libyan Flag on her bow 100 miles east of Siracusa under the coordination or RCC Catania. The fishing vessel , in precarious navigable conditions, was reached and rescued by the Diciotti Class offshore patrol […]
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION – MAERSK ETIENNE rescued 27 illegal immigrants on 04.08.2020 with group finally reach land on 12.09.2020

On Tuesday 4th August a boat with 27 illegal immigrants were rescued by the 2004 built chemical/oil products tanker MAERSK ETIENNE while she was underway to Tunisia in the Gulf of Gabes coming from Genoa, Italy. On Wednesday 5th August late afternoon she was denied entry to Maltese territorial waters especially when SAR was made […]
Casualties – Fire on cargo ship BELLATRIX off Sicily – 08.04.2020

On Wednesday 8th April, 2020 morning the Italian Coast Guard (Guardia Costiera) received a mayday distress call from the Russian flag general cargo ship BELLATRIX with fire on board. BELLATRIX was more than 180 miles southeast of Catania, when she launched the distress call for a fire which was out of control in the engine […]
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION – Another boat intercepted and refuses help from AFM

Less than two days after the humanitarian crisis involving 141 immigrants on the so called rescue ship AQUARIUS was settled, during the last hours another situation has arisen concerning a further 170 immigrants on board the Italian coastguard vessel CP 941 UBALDO DICIOTTI which is nearby Lampedusa awaiting instructions from the Italian authorities. It appears […]